


The Raven that found a Fox Den

by ExyDownUnder



Series: All For the Game [1]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Twins, Angst, Edgar Allan Ravens (All For The Game), Exy (All For The Game), I do follow the storyline but I do add shittttt, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Multi, Panic Attacks, Slow Burn, The Perfect Court (All For The Game), gay?, what if Neil had a brother?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:46:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 86,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24658579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExyDownUnder/pseuds/ExyDownUnder
Summary: What if Neil Josten had a younger twin brother that was given to the Moriyamas in a way to prove the familyʻs loyalty?This is a sort of retelling of what it would be like for, Kit Josten.After growing up with Kevin and Riko, Kit gets a call telling him that his brother and mother had been missing for four years.Finding them was hard, but it was harder trying to keep Neil safe. Seeing Kevin Day in Millport was a heart breaking moment, but signing eith the Foxes was worse.Warning: With this story, I am writing this for myself and never really had the idea of sharing, I know things might not make too much sense or things might be out of place. But I am just writing it for fun! I hope that you guys still like this!
Relationships: Andrew Minyard/Original Character(s), Kevin Day/Andrew Minyard, Kevin Day/Neil Josten, Kevin Day/Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, Kevin Day/Original Male Character(s), Minor or Background Relationship(s), Neil Josten & original male character, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Series: All For the Game [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1782850
Comments: 40
Kudos: 85





	1. Chapter 1: Seeing you again.

The stadium was dead, nothing could be heard but the sound of perplex and wood hitting against each other, the Millport team just lost the game that would have gotten them into the Semi finals. Everyone but Neil and his younger brother, Neil sat in the stands letting the smell of his cigarette woft in the air as the ash fell to the floor next to his foot, his younger brother was having a few strong words with the coach because he was unbelievably pissed off that he wasn’t put on in the second half.

Kit Josten the younger twin brother to Neil was standing in the locker room yelling at their high school coach. “You know that this team would be in the semis if you just put me on the court. But nooooo you cared more about that one hopeless asshole getting more time on then me cause he’s more popular,” Kit yelled staring up at the coach before he scoffed and fixed his long hair up, “Newsflash, he’s the worst fuckin' player on the team. You cost this team a chance to be put on the map and be district champs.” His voice angry as he held his racquet in his hands, he put it on top of his old worn out duffel bag. 

A sudden noise of the locker room door opening startled the long-haired boy. He turned to see two faces he didn’t recognise immediately and one that he hoped that he would never see again, Kevin fucking Day. 

“Ah Coach Wymack, A pleasure to see that you found your way to the locker room, this here is Kit Josten, Neil’s twin brother.” Coach Hernandez said pointing to the teen that looked like he was a deer caught in headlights. “Did you like the game?” He asked as Andrew stepped forward looking at the slightly taller long haired boy. 

“You look vaguely like that exy prodigy that went missing in Australia four years ago, donʻt you think so Kevin?” His voice was familiar, it clicked in Kit’s head on his way. Andrew Minyard, the second year goalie for the Palmetto State Foxes.

Kit stood there for a moment as Wymack looked at him, he could feel the older man's eyes on his back, obviously agreeing with what the drugged up goalie was saying. “You know, I get that a lot, always have. But if you were thinking that, no, I am not him,” Kit said with a bored expression on his face before he turned to Wymack crossing his jumper covered arms. “So what is the coach of the halfway house college exy team doing here in small old Millport? You wouldn’t be here for anyone on this Exy team, as you saw tonight they are all shit cause of our lacklustre coach.” The long-haired teen said glancing at his high school Exy coach. 

“I’m here for you and your brother, I’m interested in signing you both to play for the Palmetto State Foxes. I saw how you played tonight, it seems like you are a real prodigy even though you only started playing this year when you moved here,” Wymack said, looking to the Exy coach that was standing next to him before looking around for the older twin. “Now Coach Hernandez, show me where Neil is, I want to talk to him and his brother together.”

Coach Hernandez motions for the college Exy coach to follow him, leaving Kit in an awkward silence between Andrew, Kevin and him. “Kevin, what did you see in him anyway? I mean, this one right here has the most potential out of the two of them so why did you pick both? Trying to complete a set? Wanting two sets of twins on the team?” Andrew's smile could be heard as he spoke, climbing up the lockers to sit on top of them.

Kevin looked away from Kit and at the shorter blonde boy who is now making himself comfortable on top of the lockers. “I see potential in both Andrew.” Kevin‘s voice was something foreign to kit at the moment, he was still shocked that the boy that he had played Exy with less than four years ago didn’t recognise him, it was probably the fact that they hadn’t properly seen each other in four years because of his trip over to Australia to help coach Moriyama teach drills to his hand-picked Australian team.

Kit stood there looking at his professional racquet, he had gotten one of his friends from Australia to send it over to him because it was to the right specifications that he needed. He didn’t want to be playing with a cheap, shit racquet. “You know, I highly doubt that my brother will accept the offer, even though I want him to, I doubt that he will and I will not go anywhere without him.” Kit spoke as he re-picked up the green and gold coloured racquet, he could feel Kevin Dayʻs eyes switching from him and his racquet.

“We heard from your coach that your parents never come to your games, or anything at all.”

“They are working, they have better things to do than watch me and my brother play Exy. They don’t even like the sport,” Kit spoke quickly before putting the racquet down once again, praying to someone that Kevin Day would not recognise who he was and that his brother would hurry his arse up and get in here so they could leave.

Kevin moved forward and grasped the precious green and gold racquet from the long-haired teen's duffel bag, holding it up at eye level to inspect it. He knew there was something vaguely familiar about the teen in front of him but his comments about their parents not liking Exy really conflicted with the very expensive and almost professional racquet sitting between his fingers. “If they hated the sport so much, why would they buy you an extremely expensive professional racquet?”

Kit stood there for a moment, thinking that he had been caught by Kevin on who he really was; he didn’t want to risk being caught by anyone, him and his brother already took such a big risk of staying in Millport for as long as they did. A moment of sheer panic washed over Kit but he kept his bored expression on as he zipped up his duffel bag, his long, wet, dark brown hair falling around his face like a curtain, he hadn’t tied it up after his shower as he was waiting for his brother.

Once he zipped up his bag and pulled a hair tie out from under his jumper sleeve, he heard a set of footsteps walking quickly towards the locker room. He knew it was his brother, so he quickly tied his long hair back and looked towards the locker room door to see his brother storming in. 

Neil couldn’t believe what he had just been asked, him and his brother had been scouted out by the Palmetto State Foxes, he knew who played on that team, Kevin Day. He could not risk him or his brother being found out or being recognised by Kevin or even being anywhere near him. His heartbeat and footsteps echoed in his ears, he didn’t realise who else was in the locker room other than his brother. “Kit, we are leaving, now.”

Before the older twin could get a reply, he was smacked right in the stomach with an exy racquet, he fell back onto the floor, groaning as he tried to gasp for air. Next thing he knew he heard his brother yelling at someone.

“Oi! Don’t fuckin' touch my brother again!” Kit yelled at Andrew, he looked at Neil who slowly opened his eyes as his lungs gasped and burned for air. Kit knelt down next to him trying to make sure that he was okay. 

“I thought I told you not to touch him.” Wymack said, looking down at the two younger twins on the floor before turning his gaze towards Andrew, who was holding Kitʻs prized racquet in his hands.

The blonde boy was surprised to feel that it was a heavy racquet, he looked at the green and gold that Swirled around the worn out wood, his eyes went to the top just down from the net of the racquet. In gold cursive was a name, it was freshly painted over some new slightly off coloured green paint. Next thing the drugged up Andrew knew was that the heavy racquet was being ripped out of his hands by an angry Kit.

“I don’t like people touching my things and I don’t like people touching my brother.” Kit said with a hint of venom in his voice as he pushed Andrew further away from his brother, only to be shoved up against the lockers by Andrew dropping his racquet along the way.

Neil quickly picked up the racquet and moved, pain setting in his ribs and making it hard for him to breathe. He placed it next to his brother's duffel bag, not really wanting to get involved in what was happening between Andrew and his brother, he saw a smile appear on Andrews lips and watched as his brother did the same back even though there were hands around his neck. “Do whatever you want to, to me, but touch my brother again and you will regret it,” Kit spat out as Andrew’s hands tightened around his neck, all he could do was smile, even though he hated people touching him as long as it kept people away from his brother it didn’t matter.

Wymack growled as he grabbed the back of Andrew’s shirt making the small blonde let go of Kit, Kit just took in a deep breath of air before making his way over to his brother. Neil lifted his brother's chin up to see his neck starting to redden. “God damn it, Minyard. This is why we can't have nice things."

"Oh, Coach," Andrew said over his shoulder. "If he was nice, he wouldn't be any use to us, would he?"

"He's no use to us if you break him."

"You'd rather I let him go? Put a band-aid on him and he'll be good as new.”

Neil looked at Wymack and then at his brother. “We are not signing, now, Kit we are leaving.” 

All Kit could do was nod to his brother's commands, picking up his duffel as he wrapped an arm around his brother’s shoulders in hope to keep him up.

“You didn’t break anything did you?” Hernandez asked looking at Neil and Kit who were having a silent conversation. They both knew that this was the end of the line for them as Neil and Kit Josten, they had to get out of this dying town as soon as they left the stadium.

“No, I’m fine.” Neil said as fire spread through his muscles, he leaned more into his brother who just kept holding him up, he turned his attention to Wymack. “You shouldn’t have come here.”

“Well I’m not leaving until we talk about this, Hernandez will you give us five minutes.” All the class one Exy Coach got was a nod followed by footsteps slowly walking out of the locker room, once the door closed Wymack looked at the two brothers. “I didn’t pay for three tickets here to have you say no.”

Neil tensed up as he looked around the room, spotting the one person that he didn’t want to see, Kevin Day. Someone from his old life, everything was the same, from his dark hair and green eyes to the black number two tattooed onto his left cheekbone. Neil saw that number and wanted to retch.

Kevin had that number back then, too, but he'd been too young to have it done permanently. Instead he and his adopted brother Riko Moriyama wrote the numbers one and two on their faces with markers, tracing them over and over anytime they started to fade. Neil didn't understand it then, but Kevin and Riko were aiming for the stars. They were going to be famous, they promised him.

They were right. They had professional teams and played for the Ravens. Last year they were inducted to the national team, the US Court. They were champions, while Neil and Kit were a jumble of lies and dead-ends.

Neil knew that Kevin wouldn’t Recognise him because of how long ago it wasn’t there last saw each other and the fact that he looked different, brown contacts and dark brown hair dye. But he was more worried about his brother, he now had long dark brown hair, brown eyes and his face had matured a lot more but it was a much shorter time between Kevin and Kit seeing each other only 4 years. 

“We told you, we aren’t signing with you.” Kit said, hesitant in the fact he will say no to a once in a lifetime opportunity for someone like him who had run away from this life. Kit kept his head down and his gaze away from Kevin, Wymack sighed looking at the two brothers. 

“We aren’t good enough to play with him.” 

“No you aren’t, but I wouldn’t be here if I don’t think that the two of you had potential for something great,” Kevin’s Voice sounded foreign to Neil’s ears, he felt his brotherʻs group tighten around his shoulders. Neil looked up at the world-renowned exy player.

“We aren’t going to sign.” Neil said finally getting the feeling of fire to leave his ribs, he pulled away from his brother and handed him the green and gold racquet. 

Wymack watched the two but mainly at Kit, what Andrew said earlier struck a chord with him and Kevin but they couldn’t truly see and they didn’t believe that he would be the exy player that went missing four years ago. Nicholas was mostly raised by the Moriyama’s and was number 3 in what Riko now calls his perfect court, Nicholas went missing before he turned 15 and no one was able to find him. 

“What are you doing here?" Neil asked through numb lips.

"Why were you leaving?" Kevin asked.

"I asked you first."

"Coach already answered that question," Kevin said, a tad impatiently. "We are waiting for you both to sign the contract. Stop wasting our time.”

“No," Neil said before his brother cut in to finish his statement. "There are a thousand strikers who'd jump at the chance to play with you. Why don't you bother them?"

"We saw their files," Wymack said. "We chose the two of you."

"We won't play with Kevin."

"You will," Kevin said.

Wymack shrugged at Neil. "Maybe you haven't noticed, but we're not leaving here until you say yes. Kevin says we have to have you, and he's right."

"We should have thrown away your coach's letter the second we opened it," Kevin said. "Your file Neil is deplorable and I don't want someone with your inexperience on our court. It goes against everything we're trying to do with the Foxes this year. Fortunately for you, your coach knew better than to send us your statistics. He sent us a tape so we could see you inaction instead. You play like you have everything to lose."

His inexperience.

If Kevin remembered him, he'd know that file was a lie. He'd know about Neil's little league teams. He'd remember the scrimmage interrupted by that man's murder. "That's why," Neil said quietly.

"That's the only kind of striker worth playing with.” Kevin said looking at the older of the two twins before his eyes went to the younger. “As for you, seeing how you only had played for a year, you seemed to have a natural talent for it, reading your file was a lot better than your brother’s.” 

Now it was Kit’s turn to worry, the years of them playing together would mean that Kevin knew almost every little quirk and how he played each position, it was something of a skill that he had developed over those years of being trained with him. Kevin knew his weaknesses and his strengths in each position, this is how he would be found out, Kevin had to know that it was him. 

“Again, there are a lot of people with natural talent Day, and surprisingly I happen to be one of them, but why try and get me? I can’t be that important to your team because you already have subs for each position so signing me would be a waste of time.” Kit spoke looking at Kevin, an annoyed look on his face while he threw his duffel over his shoulder, keeping a tight grip on his racquet, Kevin had to know who he was, otherwise why would he try to get both of them on the team.

Kevin looked at the long haired teen with confusion, Kevin saw how he played on the field, he saw his stats for this year, he knew how good he was and yet here he was telling him that he wouldn’t join. “You play like you have nothing to lose, you play like it’s the only thing that is keeping you alive. Both you and your brother have what I want for this team, even though you two started this year, you play with experience.” 

“It actually works in our favor that the two of you are all the way out here," Wymack said. "No one outside of our team and school board even knows we're here. We don't want your faces all over the news this summer. We've got too much to deal with right now and we don't want to drag you into the mess until you're safe and settled at campus. There's a confidentiality clause in your contracts, says you can't tell anyone you're ours until the season starts in August."

Neil looked at Kevin again, searching for his real name on Kevin's face while Kit was keeping a tight grip on his racquet. "It's not a good idea."

"Your opinion has been duly noted and dismissed," Wymack said. "Anything else, or are you going to start signing stuff?"

The smart thing to do was bail. Both of them knew that they could leave before they got too deep into this but they were cornered. They both wanted this but they both knew that they couldn’t have it, not again for Kit and not the first time for Neil. 

They didn't know if they were ready to give up Exy again, either. It was the only thing that made Neil and Kit feel real and worth something. Wymack's contract was permission to keep playing and a chance to pretend to be normal a little while longer. Wymack said it was for five years, but the twins didn't have to stay that long. They could duck and run whenever they pleased, couldn't they?

Both Kit and Neil knew they wanted this but it was Kevin who was stopping them, his memories held parts of Neil’s past that were better left in the dark. His memories also held everything that him and Kit faced growing up with the Moriyamas, what they faced together up until Kit decided to leave. 

“Well?" Wymack asked.

Survival instincts warred with need and twisted into an almost debilitating panic. "I have to talk to my mother," Neil said, because he didn't know what else to say, Kit froze up a touch at the mention of their mother, Andrew saw it and only smiled his sick smile at the slightly taller boy.

"What for?" Wymack asked. "You're legal, aren't you? Your file says you're both nineteen."

Neil and his brother were eighteen, but he wasn't going to contradict what their forged paperwork said. "I still need to ask."

"She'll be happy for the two of you."

"Maybe," Neil agreed quietly, knowing it was a lie. If his mother knew he was even considering this, she'd be furious. It was probably a good thing she'd never know, but Neil didn't think ʻgoodʻ was supposed to feel like a knife in his chest. "I'll talk to her tonight."

"We can give you a lift home."

"We’re fine.” Kit said, moving his duffel on his shoulder, he was itching to get out of here, too many people in the room, too many authoritative figures. Neil could feel how tense his brother was so he grabbed onto his bicep and moved a little front of him. Nothing major but it was enough to get him to calm down a little.

Wymack looked at his Foxes. "Go wait in the car."

Kevin gathered his thoughts on everything as he looked away from the two twins. Andrew waited for Kevin to catch up and led him out of the locker room. Wymack waited until they were gone, then turned a serious look on Neil.

"You need one of us to talk to your parents?"

"I'm fine," Neil said again.

Wymack didn't even try for subtlety with his next question. "Are they the ones who hurt you?”

Neil stared at him at a complete loss as his brother’s head snapped up so quickly to Wymack, he thought that he was going to hurt his neck. It was blunt enough to be rude on so many levels that there wasn't a good place to start answering it. Wymack seemed to realize that, because he pushed on before Neil or Kit could respond.

"Let's try that again. The reason I'm asking is because Coach Hernandez guesses you spend several nights a week here. He thinks there's something going on since you won't change out with the others or let anyone meet your parents. That's why he nominated you to me; he thinks you fit the line. You know what that means, right? You know the people I look for."

"I don't know if he's right," he said, "but something tells me he's not far off. Either way, the locker roomʻs going to be shut down once the school year ends. You're not going to be able to come here during the summer. If your parents are a problem for you, we'll move you both to South Carolina early.”

“You'll do what?" Kit asked, surprised.

"Andrew's lot stays in town for summer break," Wymack said. "They crash with Abby, our team nurse. Her place is full, but you could stay with me until the dorm opens in June. My apartment's not made for two people let alone three but I've got a couch that's a little softer than a rock.

"We'll tell everyone you're there for conditional early practice. Chances are half of them will believe it. You won't be able to fool the rest, but that doesn't matter. Foxes are Foxes for a reason and they know we wouldn't sign you if you didn't qualify. That doesn't mean they know specifics. It's not my place to ask, and I'm sure as hell not going to tell them.”

Kit stood there for a while, in shock at what him and his brother were being offered. It was Kit’s dream to play with a college Exy team, even though he used to have a spot but he left that all behind to find his brothers. The long haired teen gripped onto his brother’s arm tightly, his arm starting to tremble, even though this is what he wanted he knew that his brother didn’t. He knew that they had to leave, they couldn’t risk being in the spotlight in case their father’s people found them.

Neil took a second to look away from Wymack to glance at Kit who was zoning out, staring off past Wymack who just finished asking once again if their parents would have a problem with them going. 

“Your graduation ceremony is May eleventh, according to your coach," Wymack said at length. "We'll have someone pick you up from Upstate Regional Airport Friday the twelfth.”

That was the moment that snapped Kit back into reality, neither him or Neil agreed to go, and Wymack obviously saw it on their faces. “Keep the papers tonight," Wymack offered, pushing his folder at Neil again. 

This time Neil took it. "Your coach can fax the signed copies to me on Monday. Welcome to the line.”

The twins stood there, in some sort of shellshock because of what had just happened. They knew that they should give Wymack a ‘thank you’ but the two of them just stood there, Wymack saw this and walked out of the locker room door. 

The back door banged shut behind him, and Neil's nerves broke. He ran for the bathroom and made it to a stall just in time to dry-heave into a toilet. He could imagine his mother's rage if she knew what he was doing. 

Kit stayed still letting go of his brother's arm as soon as he felt him tug away, he was frozen, his body was shaking but not anxious enough to join his brother in the next toilet over. Tears burned in the back of his eyes as he made his way over to his brother’s back, dropping off his duffel and racquet along the way, he kneeled down behind Neil and slowly started stroking his back trying to get him to calm down. 

“You know what mother would say about this… I feel like she would have my head for even thinking about signing those documents.” Kitʻs voice came out in nothing but a whisper, even Neil found it hard to hear. “I can still feel the way that she yanked at my hair or threatened me with a knife if I kept talking about my time playing Exy when we were on the run…” 

She would kill him for this, Kit knew that everything the three of them had worked so hard to achieve the new identities, the well covered paths, the years spent in Europe would all be for nothing if they signed. “I didnʻt know this would happen... I didnʻt, I swear, I swear...” Kit managed out through the choking sobs that blogged up his throat as his brother was muttering something out between his wet sounding coughs.

Kit stepped back from his brother so Neil would be able to go and wash out his mouth, Neil got out of the stall walking past his crying brother. All he could hear was the mutterings from him, Neil looked in the mirror he could feel the ghost of his mother’s hand pulling at his hair and yelling at him for even thinking about it. 

Neil leaned forward and tugged at his hair, praying that there wasn’t much noticeable regrowth yet, to his luck there wasn’t. He averted his contact covered eyes to look at his little brother who was standing next to the toilet stall choking on his sobs and tears. Neil walked over to his little brother, quickly opening up his duffel bag just wide enough to slip in the end signed papers that Wymack gave him, and grabbed his hands pulling them down by his side.

“Neither of us knew that this was going to happen, Kit.” Neil said letting go of his brother’s right hand and pulled at the roots of his hair slightly to make sure that the regrowth wasn’t that bad. 

“I’m so fucking so-" Kit cut himself off, his body not allowing him to say the word. "Neil, if I stayed you probably wouldnʻt have been dragged into this mess…” Kit managed to sob out as he pulled his brother into a hug, crying into his shoulder but he pulled away just as quick. Neil sighed and wiped his brother's face, he watched as Kit took deep breaths and wiped his face again. “Let’s go Neil.” 

Neil led his brother back out into the locker room, his duffel bag feeling like it weighed a ton with the papers sitting tucked away within them. Neil watched Kit grab his bag and his racquet and hesitated for a moment before nodding, The older twin could only guess what the younger was thinking about, probably their mother and how they would be so disappointed in everything that they have been doing for the past year and even more now because of the unsigned contracts in Neilʻs duffel bag. 

The two of them walked to the door, Kit opened it and let his brother out first, the two coaches looked at them and watched them as they left the stadium. Kit stayed close to his brother holding onto his bicep with his free hand, not feeling comfortable with the two coaches walking behind them. The only car in the car park was Hernandez’s, the back door was open and Andrew was standing there watching the two of them as the group, Kevin was sitting in the back looking very impatient. 

When Neil and Kit passed Andrew gave the younger twins a knowing, taunting smile. "Too good to play with us, too good to ride with us?"

Neil flicked him a cool look sped up to a jog, Kit stopped by Andrew for a split second before gripping onto his racquet and caught up to his brother. By the time they reached the far edge of the parking lot they were running. They both left the stadium and the Foxes and their too-good promises behind, but the unsigned contract in his bag felt like an anchor around Neil’s neck and an unstoppable force in Kits heart. 


	2. Chapter 2: Meeting The Monsters

Both Neil and Kit had lost count of the amount of airports they had been though, they were all similar, busy, dirty and crowded. None of them had ever gotten used to the feeling of being in such a place, there were way too many people to keep an eye on and the two of them flying with falsified passports was always risky.

When their mother died Neil and Kit inherited their mother’s connections, so they both knew that the work was good but there was always a moment of doubt every time someone asked to see their papers. 

Neither Kit or Neil had ever been through Sky Harbor or Upstate Regional but there was something familiar about the frantic pace that all of them had. Kit stood off to one side of the gate next to his older brother as if he was some sort of bodyguard, they stood there for almost a minute after everyone from their flight had rushed off to go to their transfers or to Arrivals. The crowd rushing around them seemed to be a usual mix of vacationers, business-men and students heading home at the end of the semester.

Neither of them expected to see anyone they recognized, as they had never been to South Carolina before, but it never hurt to stay aware of the people passing around them.

Neil led Kit down the busy hallway and up a flight of stairs to Arrivals. It was a Friday afternoon meaning that the small lobby was a little too crowded for comfort but spotting the ride Coach Wymack promised them was easier then Neil expected. 

Kit felt the weight of someoneʻs stare on him, he was too focused on looking around for anyone that he knew that he wasnʻt paying attention, Neil pulled his brother over to their new teammate whoʻs stare was drawing him in. It was one of the twins. Judging by the calm expression on his face, the brunette twins bet on it not being Andrew. Aaron Minyard was often called ʻthe normal oneʻ of the two, though that was usually followed with the debate on how he could be sane when he shared the same genes as Andrew.

Neil grabbed his brotherʻs free arm and crossed the room to meet him. Both Neil and Kit had been the shortest players on the Millport Dingo line, but the two of them had at least 3 inches on Aaron. The all black ensemble Aaron wore did nothing to make him look any taller, if anything it made it look shorter. Neil wondered how he could stand wearing long sleeves in May, he looked over to his brother and sighed, he will never understand how anyone could wear long sleeves in hot weather. Neil felt hotter being around the two of them.

“Neil,” Aaron said looking at Neil and then flicked his gaze to Kit, who looked a little too hot in the clothes that he was wearing, much like himself but at least his clothes were breathable, “Kit.” The blonde said in lieu of hello, and he motioned to where the bags were starting to come out onto the conveyor belt. “Baggage claim.”

“No just these,” Kit said pulling a little at his jacket and duffel bag strap, Neil did the same, the duffel was small enough to be carry on but large enough to hold everything the pair owned bar Kitʻs Exy racquet which should be arriving at the stadium in a few days, having to be shipped over.

Aaron looked at them but accepted it without comment and stared away. Neil followed Aaron and Kit followed Neil, through the sliding doors into the muggy Summer afternoon. Both Kit and Neil were a little taken aback by how hot it was, Kit more so because he was wearing a heavy jacket. A small crowd was waiting at the crosswalk for the lights to change, but Aaron pushed right through them into the street. 

Brakes screeched as a taxi slammed to a stop inches from Aaronʻs pint sized body. Aaron was indifferent to it as everyone was a little shocked that he was more interested in getting a cigarette lit and between his lips. He paid even less attention to the obscenities that the taxi driver was yelling at him. Kit wasnʻt really fazed by it because of all of the close calls that he had in Europe and Mexico but Neil was, he sent an apologetic look at the poor taxi driver and waved a sorry. 

A very nice and sleek black sports car sat in the short term parking lot of the airport. Neil didnʻt know much about cars in general but he knew something expensive when he saw it, but Kit knew a thing or two about cars and he made a lap around the expensive car. Aaron unlocked it with a button on his keychain.

“Bags in the trunk,” Aaron spoke, watching as Kit did another once around of the car, he opened the driverʻs door and sat sideways in the leather seat so he could smoke. 

Both Neil and Kit put their duffel in the boot before Neil walked to the front and climbed in the passenger's side and Kit climbed into the back passengers seat. Kit and Neil sat in the car, admiring the leather interior as Aaron didnʻt move, still smoking until the cigarette was half-gone. The blonde proceeded to flick the butt onto the concrete at his feet before he tugged the door closed.

The A twist of the key in the ignition got the engine humming, Aaron looked over at Neil and then in the rear view mirror at Kit who hummed a little hearing the power behind the beautiful car. The ghost of a smile tugged slightly at the corners of his lips, but it was a distinctly unfriendly expression. 

“Neil and Kit Josten,” He spoke, pulling the other twins attention to him, they noticed that it sounded like he was testing it out. To Aaron the two name combination of the two didnʻt really work well together but that wasn't his choice. “Here for the Summer, hm?”

“Yes.” The two replied as Kit went back to looking out the window, leaving his brother to do all of the talking.

Aaron cranked the air conditioner up as high as it could go before putting the car into reverse. The cool air made Kit sigh in relief as he undid the front of his jumper but still not taking it off, Aaron noticed and so did Neil but he had lived with it for the past three years so he didnʻt think anything different of it.

“That makes six of us, but word is you and your brother are going to be staying with Coach.” Coach Wymack warned Neil and Kit that the cousins Andrew, Aaron and Nickolas would be in town but to Neil the numbers still didnʻt add up. Neil knew who the fifth person had to be. He didnʻt want to believe it even thought it should have been painfully obvious. Kevin had been glued to Andrewʻs side since his transfer from Edgar Allan. 

“Kevin stays on campus?” Neil asked before looking back at his brother who was zoning out as he leaned in the door looking out the window. 

“Where the court is, Kevin is. He can't live or exist without it,” Aaron said, this kind of caught Kitʻs attention making him look at the shorter blonde.

“I donʻt think it was the court that Kevin was staying for,” Kit said, thinking he had known Kevin for many years, he knew that he wasnʻt able to stay away from the court for long but Kit also knew that there was another reason to be staying. 

Aaron didnʻt reply, he only made a small glance at Kit in the back seat seeing that he was thinking about this with a little too much thought. Aaron pulled up to the booth, already having the change for the lady there. Once she lifted the bar to let them out he stepped on the gas. Horns sounded off as Aaron cut them off in the traffic, him not really caring but Neil slowly put his seatbelt on while Kit didn't really care. He was too stuck in his thoughts and old memories.

After a little while of driving, Aaron kept asking Neil questions on ʻwhy him and his brother didnʻt hit it off with Kevinʻ, ʻhow he thought that summer practices will help them make a differenceʻ and ʻif he believed in hope and luckʻ.

Kit came back into the conversation when the car jerked over to the right, the sound of horns blaring made him look up front to Neil and Aaron. “You know, this is too nice of a car to wreck,” Kit said out of the blue, Aaron was a little surprised, he had almost forgotten about him in the back. Neil just rolled his eyes knowing about his brotherʻs thing for nice cars.

“Donʻt be so afraid to die,” Aaron said looking in the rear view mirror as the car kept gliding across the four-lane road to the exit ramp. “If you are, you have no place on our court.” 

“Weʻre talking about a sport, not a death match,” Neil said looking at Aaron who wasnʻt that interested how Neil reacted to what he said.

“Same difference,” Aaron spoke, not even taking his eyes off the road. “Youʻre playing for a Class 1 team with Kevin on your line. People are always willing to bleed for him. Youʻve seen the news, I assume.”

“Weʻve seen it,” Neil said, taking a small glance back at his brother who spent most of his time in thought, Neil worried a bit, Kit knew a bit more than anyone what it was like to play with Kevin Day on his line up. 

Even though Riko and Kevin were hailed as the sonʻs of Exy, because their families were the ones who created Exy and brought it to America, making it a bigger sport than football in most countries. Nic was brought into the ʻfamilyʻ when he was young, meaning that he played and mostly grew up with Kevin and Riko. When he was at Evermore he lived and breathed Exy, the three of them grew up in the public eye, Nic had a little more privacy though because he was able to go home to see his older brother. Other than that and helping Ichiro with a government sponsored team in Australia, he never left Castle Evermore. They even brought in tutors to teach them so they didnʻt have to leave to go to school.

After everything that happened four years ago with Nicholas Wesninski going missing and then Kevin breaking his hand, moving to be assistant coach for the Palmetto State Foxes and now that this season is going to start with him wearing orange and white it will be even worse. Neither Neil or Kit were looking forward to the mess that will come from all of this.

The apartment complex where Wymack lived was around a twenty minute drive from the airport. The parking lot was almost empty, giving that it was midday on a weekday, but there were three people waiting, seemingly for them, on the sidewalk. Aaron was the first out once he parked the car, he aimed the key to the back of the car, both Neil and Kit heard the boot click and pop open. The two of them climbed out and made their way to the boot to get their duffel bags out as Aaron went over to the curb to meet the others.

Neil waited until his brother had his over his shoulder before he closed the boot, as he heard it click he turned around to see that he and his brother were now the center of attention. Kit stood beside Neil with his arms crossed over his chest, Neil saw this as his little brother being overly protective of him, Neil moved next to him and looked at the Kit, his face was slightly red because of the heavy jacket that he was wearing but ignored the face that his brother had it still on.

The blonde twins were standing either side of Kevin, dressed identically but easily distinguishable by the looks on their faces, Aaron had a bored look in his face now that he had fulfilled his duty in bringing Neil and Kit here. Andrew was smiling, but both Kit and Neil knew his cheer didnʻt mean that he was going to play nice. Andrew had been smiling when he smashed a racquet into Neilʻs stomach and when he was choking Kit up against the lockers. Nicholas Hemmick was the only one who looked like he was actually happy to see Neil and Kit, he stepped to the curb at Neil and Kitʻs approach.

Kit was just standing there looking at the group as he saw Nicholas move towards them, Neil was glad for the distraction because it kept him from looking at Kevin, Kit didnʻt accept the hand that Nicholas offered so he just turned to Neil who did.

“Hey,” Nicky said looking at the twins, smiling at them as he did a once over of the two of them, it was going to be easy to tell the two apart because Kit had long curly hair and Neil had short curly hair. So that was a plus for everyone in not needing to guess between another pair of twins. Nicky used his grip on Neilʻs hand to pull him up onto the curb, Kit stepping up immediately next to his older brother. ”Welcome to South Carolina. Flight go okay?”

“It was fine,” Both Kit and Neil said with a shrug.

“Iʻm Nicky,” Nicky said with a bright smile as he left of of Neilʻs hand. “Andrew and Aaronʻs cousin and backliner extraordinaire.”

Neil looked at his brother who was giving Nicky and then the twins a once over, not seeing how they could be related, the three looked completely different but Kit couldnʻt be one to judge on family matters. Where the twins were light, Nicky was dark, with jet black hair, dark brown eyes and skin two shades too dark to be a tan. Also the fact that he had a better part of a foot on the twins.

“By blood?” Neil asked looking between them as he felt Kit grab his arm, holding on to it softly.

Nicky laughed looking at them. “Donʻt look right? I take after my mom. Dad ʻrescuedʻ her from Mexico during some la-di-dah ministry trip.” Nicky saw understanding on Neil and Kitʻs faces before. “You already met them, right? Aaron, Andrew, Kevin? Coach was supposed to be here to let you in, but he had to head up to the stadium real quick. The ERC called him, probably with more BS about how we haven't publicised our subs yet. In the meantime you're stuck with us, but we've got Coach's keys. Suitcases in the trunk?”

“No just these,” Kit said looking up at Nicky, he really hated that he was short and he knew that Neil felt the same. 

Nicky looked at the two in some sort of shock at how little they both had before looking at the three others who were just watching Nicky and the new twins. “They both pack light. I wish I could travel like that, but hell if I ainʻt materialistic.” 

“Materialistic is just a start.” Aaron said, looking at the trio with a bored look never leaving his face.

Nicky grinned before grabbing Neil and Kitʻs shoulders, Neil felt his brotherʻs grip on his arm tighten up a little bit as he tried not to punch Nicky. Nicky didnʻt seem to notice Kitʻs reaction as he guided the two past the rest of them and to the front door. “This is where Coach lives,” He said unnecessarily. 

“Kind of gathered that.” Kit muttered glancing at his brother, no one hearing it other than Neil.

“He makes all the money, so he gets to live in a place like this while us poor people couch surf.” 

“You got a nice car for someone who thinkʻs heʻs poor,” Neil said.

“Thatʻs why weʻre poor,” Nicky said dryly, as he looked down at Neil and Kit. 

“Aaronʻs mother bought it for us with her life insurance money,” Andrew explained as he pushed the elevator button and waited for it to open. “Itʻs not a surprise she had to die to be worth anything.”

“Easy,” Nicky said quickly, but he wasnʻt looking at Andrew when he said it, he was looking at Aaron.

Andrew lifted up his hands in a careless shrug. “Why bother? Itʻs a cruel world, isnʻt it Neil, Kit. Neither of you would be here if it wasnʻt.” Andrew watched the slightly taller twins, he watched as Kit looked at Neil before he spoke. 

“The world isn't cruel,” Kit said as the elevator finally decided to open, “The people in it are the ones that make it seem cruel when they are actually the cruel ones.”

“Oh, so true.”

Everyone started to get into the elevator with Kit and Neil at the back, Kit still kept a tight hold on Neilʻs arm, not really liking the small amount of free space still left. They rode the elevator up to the seventh floor in silence, Neil kept an eye on his brother so he wouldnʻt look at Kevinʻs reflection. Both of the brothers were feeling uneasy at being on such a high level, they preferred staying on lower levels so they could make a quick and easy escape if they needed. 

Kit and Neil made a mental note to figure out where all of the fire escapes and emergency exits were later, seeing that they couldnʻt really go wondering around at the moment.

Wymackʻs apartment was number 724. The group gathered around the door, Neil trying to sort out where Aaron had put his smokes and Kit moving a little more down the hallway to get a better feel of the apartment complex.

“Here you go,” Nicky said looking at Neil and then down the hall a little to Kit who turned to him, He watched the brothers walk into the small apartment. “Home sweet home, thatʻs if anything involving Coach can be called sweet.”

Neil and Kit had known since April that theyʻd be crashing at Wymackʻs until they were able to move into the dorms, they both knew that their stay here was going to be uncomfortable. But neither of them were ready for how their stomachs knotted up in discomfort. The two of them had been together since their mother died, and the last men that they lived with were both less than ideal. How were they meant to let Wymack lock the door every night with them living under the same roof?

Neil knew that him and Kit wouldnʻt be able to sleep here, any noise that came from Wymack would have them awake. Neil was a little more worried about his brotherʻs sleeping habits, he didnʻt sleep much as is so this would be no good for him in that respect.

Kit was standing next to Neil, holding his upper arm tightly as he thought for a moment, knowing that staying here wouldnʻt be a good idea for either of them. Maybe they should go and stay in a hotel? But it would be trouble trying to explain it to Wymack but he would kind of understand because he thought that their parents were abusive so he might understand their hesitation. 

Neil didnʻt expect to lock up like he did, Kit was hesitating too long. Out of the corner of their eyes they could see Nicky send a concerned and confused look to Aaron and knew that he made a mistake.

Andrew moved forward toward the two, to try and see what was taking the two so long to move more into the apartment. Kit tightened his grip on Neilʻs arm when he made eye contact with the now smiling blonde, feeling the tightness on his arm made Neil come back to reality and started moving down the hallway. 

Kit looked into the first doorway that opened up into a lounge room that the two brothers would be sharing, the couch was cleared off and had a sticky note on it saying where the two would be able to get blankets. The couch was the only clean/ clear thing in the room, everything else was covered in papers, coffee mugs and overflowing ashtrays.

Neil pulled Kit over to the window to get a better look out of it before they heard Nicky start talking. 

“What was that all about?” 

Kit tightened his grip on his brother, hearing Nicky talk, he looked to Neil to see him also freeze up. It wasnʻt what Nicky said, it was the language that Nicky used. German was Neilʻs second language and he taught it to Kit after he found them in France. How the hell did they know that they spoke German?

Kit had it in his mind to leave, taking his brother with him, but then Aaron responded. That’s when it hit them, the question wasnʻt for them. They didnʻt know that either of them spoke German, they were talking about them not intending for either of them to understand.

Kit started moving first to draw the curtains away from the window, taking a look through the dirty glass, Neil walked up next Kit hoping in some way to get his heart back into a normal rhythm.

“Maybe they were savoring the moment,” Aaron replied back to his cousin as he kept an eye on the two new foxes.

“No,” Nicky said. “That was pure fight or flight, what the hell did you say to them Andrew?” 

Kit and Neil looked back to Nicky and the Minyard twins, Andrew just didnʻt respond meaning the attention was back on the Jostenʻs. Nicky gave a bright smile to the two and switched back to English. “How about a tour?” 

Neil looked at his brother who just shrugged, giving a small shake of his head, if Neil wanted a tour of the place he could do it. Neil thought about saying something about the German but decided against it, already given so much away. “Sure.” 

Kit watched Neil walk down the hallway that led to the other small rooms of the apartment, his eyes not leaving his brother. Kit kind of looked like a concerned and overprotective father making sure that their son was okay. It felt weird, but he lost his brother once and he wasnʻt willing to let anything happen to him again if he knew that in some way that he was able to prevent it.

Once Neil walked into one of the rooms off of the hallway, out of Kitʻs sight, Kit decided to walk down there. The room was an office filled with paperwork, books, newspaper articles, books and stacks of paperwork covering most of the available space. Nicky was walking over to the desk grabbing a hefty prescription bottle off of the stack files, he grabbed the bottle and made a triumphant noise when it opened.

“You know that isnʻt yours,” Kit said as he folded his arms in the doorway of the office, leaning on his duffel and the door frame.

Nicky jumped a little hearing Kitʻs voice out of nowhere, he shrugged it off as he looked at him. “Painkillers,” Nicky said ignoring the accusation. “Coach shattered his hip a few years back. That's how he met Abby, she was his therapist, he was the one who got her the job she has now. The team is split fifty-fifty on if they are boning. Andrew refuses to bet so one of you would be the tie breaker. Let me know ASAP, I’ve got a lot of money riding on it.”

Nicky took a couple of the pills out before twisting the lid back on to the prescription bottle, Neil looked to see what the others thought about what Nicky was doing only to find that Andrew and Kevin had seemingly disappeared and Aaron couldn’t care less, while Kit just rolled his eyes at what the cousin did.

“You’ll both meet Abby at dinner,” Nicky spoke looking between the two as he put the pain pills in one of his pockets, “We got a couple of hours before then, we should probably take you to the stadium so you two can go look at it. We now have one over the perfect number for scrimmages, Kevin is probably pissing himself with excitement now that we can actually play.”

“I doubt that," Neil said, thinking of Kevin's dispassionate expression downstairs, Kit agreed with his brother but honestly he couldn’t wait to play.

"Kevin doesn't do excited," Aaron agreed, "but since Exy is the only thing he cares about, no one wants either of you on our court more than he does."

Neil's answer got stuck somewhere in his throat as he processed that. It was the same thing Aaron said in the car, almost, except Aaron sounded apathetic now where he'd been scornful earlier. 

“You know what? I can’t wait to play, it’s been a while,” Kit said looking at Aaron, something was off with him and he knew that Neil was picking up on it too.

Between that sudden change in attitude, the disappearing pack of cigarettes, and the matching outfits, Neil was starting to second-guess what was going on here. These were just small things, but Neil had learned to survive on the fine details, and Kit was someone who couldn’t help but pick up on small details.

Kit rolled his eyes as his brother started asking about how it was to play with Kevin Day, he knew that he didnʻt play last year and he probably hadnʻt played with them as of yet. Nicky just seemed to confirm his suspicions.

“Technically we havenʻt played with him yet,” Nicky explained looking at Neil and then to the door at Kit who was smiling a little. “He just started getting into drills with us last month. If heʻs anything like he was when he was an assistant coach, you are going to have the most awful year.” Despite how ominous his word choice, Nicky sounded amused. “But heʻs worth it.”

“Worth the fights, too?” Neil asked looking towards Nicky and then at Aaron as he moved away from the desk where his and more then likely his brotherʻs file was too. “Like the one that happened two weeks ago, Aaron said it got completely out of control. How many people got injured in that, again?” 

Kit looked at his brother, even though he was zoning out in the car ride, he knew that they didnʻt talk about any fights, then it hit him, his brother was trying to see if it was really Aaron who got them at the airport. Neil watched Aaron out of the corner of his eye, there was a pause from him, he thought that he was imagining things. Then Aaron answered, “Eleven.”

It was the right answer; Neil read about the brawl in an article and because he was reading out loud Kit also heard about it. But Aaron and him didnʻt talk about it in the car ride over here, Aaron shouldʻve known that. Now it made sense, that wasnʻt Aaron who got them from the airport, it was Andrew.

Both Neil and Kit looked at one another remembering the exasperated accusation in the living room; “What the hell did you say to them Andrew?” Neil assumed that Nicky was talking about when they all first met in Millport, but Nicky was talking about the car ride from the airport.

Kit knew that there was something off about ʻAaronʻ on the ride back, Andrew couldnʻt legally be sober but if people couldnʻt tell the twins apart it would be harder at first glance to find out if he was sober or not. Neil knew that Andrew was breaking his parole by being sober to meet them, but he couldnʻt help but wonder if Andrew wanted to meet his newest teammates without a hazy mind, or Andrew just hated spending his summer break drugged to the grills.

Kit turned to look down the hallway when he heard footsteps, he saw Andrew and Kevin walking over to the office, Andrew triumphantly holding a bottle of whisky. Kit moved from his spot in the doorway and took to moving closer to his brother who was near the door at this point, letting Andrew and Kevin to take his spot. 

“Success.” 

“Ready, Neil, Kit?” Nicky asked looking at the brothers before motioning to the door. “We should probably beat it before Coach shows up.” 

“Why?” Neil pointed to the bottle of liquor that Andrew was holding tightly. “Is this a robbery in progress?”

“Maybe it is. Will you tell Coach on us?” Andrew asked, sounding entertained by the notion. “So much for being a team player. I guess you are a Fox Neil.” 

“No,” Kit cut in, understanding where his brother was going with the conversation, “but I would ask him why youʻre not medicated.” Neil looked at his brother smiling a touch before looking at the others.

There was a heat beat of silence. The only one that didnʻt react was Andrew; even Kevin looked surprised. 

Nicky was the first to find his tongue, from the shock at what Kit had just said, but he reverted to German to ask Aaron, “Am I crazy? Did I just see that happen?”

“Donʻt look at me,” Aaron said back quickly.

“Weʻd prefer an answer in English,” Neil said, he looked at his brother who was watching Andrew.

Andrew put a thumb to the corner of his mouth and dragged it along his lips to eliminate his smile, but Kit seemed to put on a small smirk as he heard Andrew start talking. “That sounds like an accusation, but I didnʻt lie to either of you.”

“Omission is the easiest way to lie.” Neil said before his brother added on.

“You could have corrected us.” 

“Could have but I didnʻt,” Andrew said looking at the two brothers, one smiling and one looking indifferent. “You two can figure that out yourselves.”

“We did,” Neil and Kit spoke, they raised their right hands and tapped two fingers to their temple, copying Andrewʻs mocking salute from when they first met in Millport. “Better luck next time.”

“Oh,” Andrew said, “You two might actually be interesting. For a little while, at least. I donʻt think the amusement will last. It never does.” 

“Don't mess with me,” Neil said, keeping his eyes on the psychotic blonde.

“Or what?” 

Kit moved in front of his brother, his smirk not leaving his face as he crossed his arms. “Youʻll have to deal with me. I donʻt like people messing with my brother.” 

Before Andrew could say anything back there was a rattle at the front door. Andrewʻs bright and vacant smile was back on his face in a heartbeat. He turned to Kevin, and Kevin moved as well, the whisky had disappeared between them, they had done this so many times they had it down to an art form. 

“Hi Coach!” Andrew called out over his shoulder. 

“Do you know how much I hate coming home and finding you in here?” Wymack demanded from out of sight still. 

Andrew stepped out into the hallway, his hands held up in an innocent gesture that no one would ever believe. Aaron and Kevin stepped out into the hallway, more than likely with the bottle of whisky between them, leaving Nicky, Neil and Kit in the office. 

“I didnʻt break anything this time Coach,” Andrew said, trying to sound innocent.

“Iʻll believe that after Iʻve gone over and looked at everything that I own.” The door slammed down the hallway, the loudness made Kit jump a little, and it wasnʻt long before Wymack stepped into his office. Clad in jean shorts and a faded tee, Wymack looked like he belonged in a garage rock band not as a university Exy coach. 

Wymack gave Neil and Kit a once over and nodded, seeing that they were okay. “I see that you both made it. I was pretty sure that Nickyʻs driving would habe gotten you killed.” 

Neil felt Nickyʻs eyes on him before Kit spoke up. “Weʻve survived worse.” 

“There is nothing worse than that idiotʻs driving,” Wymack said. “Thereʻs just an open or closed casket.” 

“Hey, hey,” Nicky yelled out trying to defend himself. “Thatʻs not fair, Iʻm not that bad.” 

“Life isnʻt fair. Get over it. What are you still doing here?” 

“Leaving,” Andrew said. “Goodbye. Are Neil and Kit coming too?”

Wymack looked at Andrew suspiciously, he really didnʻt know what he was going to do. “Going where?” 

“Jeez, what kind of people do you think that we are, Coach?” Nicky asked.

“You really want an answer for that?” 

“Taking them to the Court,” Aaron said from the hallway. “We can give them a ride to Abbyʻs after. You didnʻt need them did you?”

“I donʻt think that we can fit six people in your car.” Kit stated looking at Nicky before Andrew poked his head in the doorway behind Wymack.

“Weʻll make Aaron walk, or he can stay here with Coach,” Andrew said before his brother could butt in and go against it. 

Wymack looked at Kit and Neil, taking out a keychain, throwing it towards the two of them. Kit caught them, holding them tightly for a moment, letting the cold metal dig into his palm before giving them to Neil. “The long key is for the front gate that closes at night. Small one gets you into the apartment. Iʻll get another set made up if you need it.” 

As Wymack was explaining what the keys were for Kit started looking arounf the office, trying to find something else to focus on but managed to nod along after hearing what each key was for. “Wow Coach that's blatant favoritism.” 

“When you start going of your own volition, maybe Iʻd give you your own set. But because I donʻt see that happening anytime soon or in the next few life times, you have to suck it up and share with Kevin.”

“Oh joy, oh joy,” Adnrew said looking at Kevin. “So excited, you can see it in my face. Can we go?”

“Get out,” Wymack said, Andrew seemingly vanished, both Kevin and Aaron followed him out. Nicky was following them as well but as he reached the doorway Wymack put an arm out in his way. “Donʻt you dare traumatize either of them on their first day here.”

Nicky looked back at the twins who were fidgeting a little before looking back at Wymack. “Neither of them are traumatized, right?”

“Not yet.” Neil said, making his brother chuckle a little. After a small mental debate Neil shrugged his duffel off of his shoulder. Kit looked at his brother and frowned a little, it was going to be hard for either of them to leave their bags behind in an unfamiliar place with no proper protection.

Neither of them really trusted Andrew or his group, they didnʻt know his intentions and they didnʻt know why he decided to pick them up sober when Wymack had trusted Nicky to do that. But to Neil having his bag here would be safer than letting it near Andrew and his crew. 

“Do you have anywhere safe we could put these?” Neil asked, keeping a tight grip on the strap.

“Thereʻs space in the living room,” Wymack said looking between the two, noticing both of them looking at Nicky who was still standing in the doorway. 

Neither Kit or Neil walked away from their bags unless they were locked up in their lockers in Millport, but since they both signed with the Foxes anything that Kit had of his past would be put into Neilʻs folder. 

Wymack gave Nicky an inpatient look before he said. “Why are you still here? Go.”

Nicky muttered a ʻrudeʻ under his breath as he slipped past Wymack and down the hallway.

Wymack looked at Neil and Kit again. “How safe is safe?”

Neil wasnʻt one that people could read easily, and neither was Kit, neither of them let their situation get out of hand. On the run their mother had always been able to come up with the perfect story, the right things to tell people. Neil had fumbled his way through his transition in Millport, without his brotherʻs help he didnʻt think that most of the stuff that he said would work, but they could have cut and run whenever they felt like they were in danger because of the way things were going. This, they both desperately, wanted to make, for however long they could manage that for.

“Itʻs all we have.” Neil said, looking to his brother who had just shrugged his bag off of his shoulder.

Wymack motioned for Neil and Kit to get out of his way, Kit grabbed onto his brotherʻs arm as he moved out of the way for Wymack to get to his messy desk. Kit watched closely as Wymack unlocked a drawer at his desk, he opened a drawer filled with paper and files every which way, reaching in there Wymack pulled everything out and dumped it on the floor. The stack started to topple over as Neil looked at the empty drawer, it was only big enough for one of their bags. Wymack didnʻt seem to notice as the papers started falling every which way because he was busy taking a small key off of his keychain. 

“Itʻs a temporary fix,” Wymack said, handing the small key to Neil, not noticing Kit moving back slightly at him reaching out to Neil. “You'll have to work something out when you both move into the dorms.” 

Kit looked at Neil and motioned for him to put his bag into the drawer, Neil nodded to him and started shoving his bag in, luckily it was able to fit in there. All of the clothes would be crushed but the file would be safe. 

“Iʻll keep mine by the desk if thatʻs okay..?” Kit spoke softly, a little worried about how Wymack would react, but all the older man did was nod and move away a few stacks of papers, letting the teen have a spot to put it. 

Kit put it down and Kit kept his hold on his brotherʻs arm, not really liking being here alone with Wymack. “You two should get going, you don't want them sending a search party for you.” Wymack said, gesturing to the office door, telling them that it was okay to leave. 

Neil nodded and pulled his brother in front of him, making Kit let go of his grip on Neilʻs arm, Neil held his brotherʻs shoulder and held it tightly as they walked out of the office and to the living room. Andrew nodded at the two finally seeing them coming out of the apartment, he was getting annoyed how long they had been waiting.

Aaron stayed behind, his arms crossed and a scowl on his face as he watched Neil lead Kit out of the apartment. The two could feel Aaronʻs eyes burning into the back of their heads but they didʻt pay any attention to it because as soon as they made it into the hallway the elevator arrived. Kit turned back to the apartment door and closed it, once he turned back the doors to the elevator opened and they all filed inside.

Any sense of safety that the two brothers had was gone once the doors closed, Nicky was leaning on the metal railing to their left while Kevin was to their right and Andrew was standing opposite them. All eyes on them.

Kit stood a little closer to his brother, almost in front of him as he saw Andrewʻs smile disappear almost instantly when the elevator started moving down.

When they got to around the 5th floor Andrew pushed off from the railing and walked towards them, Andrew reached out to grab Neilʻs hand only to have Neil pushed out of his reach by Kit pushing him back. Andrew raised an eyebrow and looked up at Kit before taking another step forward, Kit instinctively took a step back, his brother and him hitting into the metal behind them.

How could someone so small have such a huge presence. 

“How nice to meet you, Kit, Neil,” Andrew dragged out. “It will be a while before we see each other again.”

“Somehow I donʻt think we are that lucky,” Neil piped up as Kit nodded, agreeing with him.

“Like this,” Andrew said gesturing between their faces, “Abby said if we break either of you before June, sheʻll take away our stadium rights for the Summer. We canʻt have that, can we? Kevin can't live without the court. No worries though. Weʻll just wait until all the other Foxes are here then Abby would have too many other broken souls to worry about. Then weʻll throw you both a welcome party that you will never forget.” 

Kit raised an eyebrow at Andrew before crossing his arms over his chest. “You arenʻt being very persuasive, you really need to rethink your methods.” 

“They suck,” Neil added on as he moved to stand next to his brother.

Andrew looked to Neil and turned his body a little. “I donʻt need to be persuasive,” Andrew said, going to put a hand on Neilʻs chest only to have it hit away by Kit, he looked at the long haired brother and put his hand to his chest. Andrew felt Kitʻs breath hitch as the elevator slow to a stop. “Youʻll learn to do what I say.” 

As the doors slowly opened Andrew gave Kit a small shove back into the lobby. “And youʻll learn not to touch my fucking brother.” Kit spat out as Andrew shoved past him, shoulder to hip pushing him out of the way, Kevin was only half a step behind as they walked to the door.

Neil went to his brother and gave him a small once over before giving him a nod. Nicky stayed behind long enough to give the two brotherʻs a small smile.

“Are you both ready for this?” Nicky asked before he went off ahead.

“You need to learn that I can stand up for myself, Kit.” Neil said turning back to his brother when Nicky just walked past.

“Well I want to do this Neil, I have to look after you,” Kit said before pausing for a moment, were either him or his brother ready for this? He didnʻt know if Kevin would remember Neil and he couldnʻt outright ask Kevin if he knew who he was. He had a feeling that Kevin wouldnʻt be their only concern while they stay at Palmetto State. Neither of them would know that Kevin would remember them until it was too late. But Andrew was only a psychotic midget, Kit and Neil both grew up with violence, a bit more excessive for Kit then it was for Neil. So handling him would be easy, they just have to be a little more careful.

“Ready?” Neil asked as his hand hovered over his brotherʻs shoulder, he knew that when heʻs zoned out he doesnʻt like being touched.

Kit smiled slightly as he nodded and turned to the door, seeing that they were outside. “Ready.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you like the story so far, yes I will be following the story line closely for most parts because Kit will always be with Neil for the first little while. I hope that you like it!


	3. Chapter 3: Back onto the court

As they were in the car, Kit could feel his brotherʻs excitement radiating off of him as they came closer to the Foxhole Court. The stadium was a beacon on the outskirts of the Palmetto State campus, the blinding orange and white paint job made it impossible to miss. Giant paw prints stood out on all of the four walls, it could hold up to an impressive 65,000 people.

Neil kept his eyes on the Foxhole Court as they passed four different parking lots, turning into the fifth and closest to the stadium. There were a few cars parked around, probably belonging to maintenance staff or summer school students. The sports car was soon parked at the curb closest to the stadium, the stadium itself was fully surrounded by barbed wire fencing. The gates that were used for handling a crowd were placed equidistant down the length of the fence, but for the moment all of them were chained shut.

Neil got out of the car with Kit following close behind, Nicky, Andrew and Kevin watched as Neil looked in awe at the place while Kit just crossed his arms and watched over his brother. Neil made his way to the fence, he linked his fingers through the wire and looked around at the outer grounds of the Court. All of the merchandise stands and the food stalls were all boarded up until the season started. Kit smiled a little as he stood next to his brother, it had been way too long since he stepped foot in a proper Exy stadium.

The thought of the echoing of Exy balls rebounding off of the court walls, the shoes and bodies hitting the wall and floors and just the whole thought of it made the Josten twins time.

Nicky walked over to the two with a smile on his face, he reached out and put a hand on each of their shoulderʻs. “The orange grows on you, trust me.” 

Neil tightened his grip on the chain link fence as Kit shrugged Nickyʻs hand off of his shoulder as soon as his hand touched him, Kit looked down the chain fence to see Kevin and Andrew part way down, watching them. 

“Let me in.” Neil said, dragging his eyes away from the stadium.

“Come on then.” Nicky said, led the twins down the fence.

The three of them reached the end of the gates- theyʻd parked by the 24th gate and the next gate along was number 1. In between the two gates a narrow door that was sealed with a keypad, the door led to a hallway that cut the outer grounds in two. Kevin and Andrew were waiting for Nicky, Neil and Kit outside the door. Not to anyone's surprise Kevin brought the whisky with him.

“This is our entrance,” Nicky said pointing to the keypad. “Code changes every few months, but Coach will always let us know when he changes it. Right now itʻs 0508. May and August, get it? It's Abby and Coachʻs birth months. Told you that they were boning. When are your birthdays?” 

Kit took a moment to register the question. “It was in March.” Neil and Kit said together. 

“Oh dam, we missed it. But we recruited you both in April, so that should count as the worldʻs greatest present. Neil what did your girlfriend get you?” Nicky asked looking at Neil.

Neil was just looking up at him sort of stunned. “What?”

“Come on with a cute face like yours has to have a girlfriend. Unless you swing my way, of course, in which case please tell me now and save me the trouble of finding out.” Nicky said as Neil got more confused as to why Nicky was asking about what way he ʻswungʻ.

“Can you stop talking about my brotherʻs sexuality?” Kit said crossing his arms, he could see his brotherʻs irritation at the topic. “Stop being noisy.”

“Itʻs not like it really matters, I donʻt swing.” Neil said crossing his arms, they were so close to getting into the court but Nicky had to ask really stupid questions.

“Bullshit that you donʻt swing.” Nicky said, crossing his arms over his chest, he looked at Kit, who was more interested in anything else. “What about you? What did your girlfriend get you?” 

Kit looked up at Nicky, confused. “I have never had one, and much like my brother, I donʻt swing.” Nicky stood there for a moment and when he opened his mouth to say something Kit cut him off. “Can we go in or not?” Even though Neil and Kit knew that it wasnʻt quite the truth, of them not swinging, it was close enough to it.

Kevin took this as his que to punch in the numbers and open the door. “Go,” He said to the two brothers. 

Neil didnʻt need to be told twice to go in, Kit followed behind wanting to get away from Nicky and this weird topic of conversation. Once they got down to the end of the hallway, Neil had his keys out and was standing by the door that says FOXES. Kevin pointed out the right one to Neil and Kit nodded along remembering it for later. 

It felt a little weird for the two brothers to be giving a key to the locker room, in Millport they were never given a key and Coach Hernandez always turned a blind eye whenever they broke in, but having a key meant that they were allowed to be there. They belonged there.

The first room was a lounge. Three chairs and two couches took up most of the space, they formed a semicircle around the TV, which seemed obscenely large but neither Neil nor Kit could wait to watch a game on it. Plastered above the TV was a list of News and sports channels.

The rest of the walls were covered in photos of the team. Some of them were official photos: team photos, Foxesʻ goals and photos from newspaper clippings. The majority of them were photos taken by the Foxes themselves, being held up by tape wherever they could fit them on the wall. Kit scanned the wall with a small smile tugging at his lips, he admired the three females on the team whose photos took up a large section of a corner of the wall. 

Even though Exy was a co-ed sport not many Class 1 teams took on females to be on their lines. But after the Foxes trainwreck of a first season, the Palmetto State they were willing to listen to Wymack. Picking Dan, Allison and Renee, making Dan capitan. To Kit, Wymack made the right choice to make her captain, she's strong and fierce.

“Thatʻs Dan, Renee and Allison. Danʻs good people but she will work you to the bone. Allison she's a catty bitch so I would avoid her at all costs. And Renee, sheʻs a sweetheart. Be kind to her.” Nicky said pointing at the photos.

“Come on.” Kevin said getting impatient and motioned them to follow him down the hallway.

“Wymack made the right choice making Dan capitan.” Kit said looking down the hall, he watched Neil look into the dress/bathroom of the Foxes. Nicky looked down at him with a questioning look, almost telling him to continue as they followed the others down the hallway. “Sheʻs a strong force, she has helped this team of misfits actually win games. I donʻt understand why people hate her for that.” Kit explained as they made their way into the bright orange foyer.

This was where the press could get photos of the team and interviews with them after the game, there was an over abundance of orange but it worked well together. 

“Welcome to the foyer,” Nicky said to Neil who was looking around in awe, while Kit just watched his brother. “Thatʻs what we call it, anyway. By ʻweʻ I mean whatever smartass preceded us.” 

Andrew sat on one of the orange benches, Kevin moved closer to him as the blonde pulled out his medication, shoving it into his mouth as him and Kevin swapped the pill bottle for the whisky bottle. Kevin pointed out the gear room and then he walked down a hallway that led to a bright orange door.

Kevin grabbed Neilʻs keys and made sure that both Kit and Neil knew what key was for this door. It led out into the shadows, Neil followed Kevin and Kit followed his brother out with Nicky behind him. Neil took a sharp breath in when he realized where he was, Kit heard it and put a hand on his brotherʻs shoulder, they were in the stadium.

“You both get to see the Foxhole Court looking itʻs best.” Nicky said looking at the amazement on Neilʻs face and an indifferent look on Kit’s. “We made enough money off of Kevin last year, they got all of the walls done and the floor refurbished. This is the nicest and cleanest this place has looked since year one.”

Neil started looking around in awe, looking at the benches, and just imagining what the whole stadium would look like all packed with fans on a game night, Kit on the other hand was just looking around at the seemingly never ending dark stands. He froze for a moment, his heart starting to pick up speed, for a split second he was back where he never thought that he would step foot again.

Neil noticed as he started to move closer to his brother before a hum of electricity rang out through the empty stadium and one by one the lights started to turn on in the stadium. Kit took a quick look at the white and orange seats that filled the stadium before looking at the court, seeing the orange lines painting the first, half and far court. He knew that he wasnʻt back there and he was grateful for it, Neil still went to his brotherʻs side, putting a hand on his shoulder lightly.

“This is everything that you ever wanted Neil, I canʻt wait to get on this court.” Kit spoke, barely above a whisper, he could imagine 65,000 fans screaming at every goal, bodies hitting against each other and against the cold hard plastic. Kit put his hand on the perplex wall, Neil followed and did the same.

This is what they wanted, this is what they dreamt of for the last few weeks. They were also dreaming of the negatives that would come from this but for now they just wanted to spend these three and a half weeks training here with just the six of them. But in June the rest of the Foxes would move in for Summer practices and in August their first season in the spotlight would start.

“Oh,” Nicky said, leaning against the wall a little bit away from Neil, Kit turned and looked at Nicky confused. “No wonder he chose you two.”

Kit moved away from the wall and looked down the wall to see Kevin, whoʻd he had grown up with mostly and who he just up and left one day. Kevin was watching Kit and Neil and once Neil finally looked his way he pointed back where they had just come from.

“Give them their gear.” 

Nicky motioned the two brothers to follow him back to the locker room. Andrew was nowhere insight but that didnʻt concern the Josten twins. Kit looked around at all of the names on the lockers, his eyes locking onto his last name. He opened the locker, a smile on his face as he saw five workout outfits and a set of both home and away uniforms. A lot of padding and armor took up most of the space, he saw thicker padding and then some thinner, his helmet was on the top shelf. 

Kit looked over at his brother who was pulling out a bright orange varsity jacket, Kit looked in his locker and pulled out his from under his helmet. Taking it out of the shrink wrap, much like his brotherʻs, Kitʻs had ʻFoxesʻ and ʻK.Jostenʻ printed on the back. 

“Satellites can pick these up in outer space.” Neil said looking at them closely, Kit nodded in agreement as he felt the thick warm jacket.

Nicky laughed at Neilʻs comment. “Dan had them commissioned them her first year here. She said she was tired of everyone trying to look past us. People want to pretend people like us don't exist, you know? Everyone hopes we're someone else's problem to solve." He reached out and fingered the material. "They don't understand, so they don't know where to start. They feel overwhelmed and give up before they've taken the first step.”

Kit nodded, putting his jacket back into the large locker, Nicky kept talking about an idea that Renee had in giving a portion of the sales to charities. “Now letʻs get you two lookinʻ foxy.” Nicky said as Neil nodded, Kit took a second longer, he wasnʻt putting on red and black, he wasnʻt in that dark place anymore. 

Nicky noticed the moment of hesitation in Kit before he walked off with his less bulky gear and his uniform. Neil and Kit headed into the bathroom, over the last year they got changing in bathroom stalls down to an art form even though it was awkward and uncomfortable, it was a kind of privacy thing that they both had grown to be comfortable with.

Kit pulled off his jacket and t-shirt, not really looking down at himself as he started strapping on the shoulder and chest padding. Once the padding was tight enough he slipped his shirt on over it, once his shirt was on he slipped on the thin cotton gloves pulling them up over his elbows. Kit walked out to find his brother changing out his jeans for shorts, deciding to do the same thing.

Kit sat down on the bench next to his brother so he could start putting on his shin guards, the long socks over the top of them and put on scuff-free court shoes. He strapped on the arm guards, looking his his brother who passed him his new helmet and outer gloves. “Thanks.”

Neil pushed his hair back with an orange bandanna, Kit just rolled his eyes as he moved his ponytail so he was able to strap the neck guard around his neck. Kit really hated the neck guard because it made him feel like he was being strangled, only sometimes that it was worth having on but others it caused him to have a panic attack.

They all made their way back into the foyer, Neil walked over to the gear locker and opened it. Kit stayed back watching as Nicky pulled out the stick rack, once he pulled it out Nicky grabbed a bucket of balls that they would be using. All of the raquets were arranged by numbers, a pair for each player with both Neil and Kitʻs at the end. Neil grabbed one of his, it was new, ordered just for him and it was a light and just everything that he wanted in a raquet.

Kit walked over to where his was, they had a more of a universal shape to the netting so he could use them for any other position other than keeper. He unhooked the racquet and held it in his hands, it was a heavy, something that he wasnʻt really expecting to be having here.

“He got me a heavy…” Kit whispered as he twirled the orange and white racquet in his hands, he held it tightly. He knew that he wouldnʻt be allowed to use his old racquet when he played with the foxes but he thought that he would be using a light racquet like his brother. 

Kit held tightly onto the racquet and his helmet and followed his brother and Nicky back to the inner ring, Kevin was still standing where they had left him. The trio were watched as they started putting on their helmets and gloves, Nicky led them to the home court entrance. Neil used the last key unused to open the door, he quickly stuffed the keys into his glove for safe keeping.

Kit looked over at Kevin who just stood there watching from the outside. “Kevin not gonna join us? I thought that he would want to test us or something.” 

Nicky looked surprised that Kit would ask something like that. “Kevin only tolerates our court under two conditions: alone, or with Andrew on it. Heʻll have to get over it in the fall when Reneeʻs in goal at games, but for now he can get away with his little rules.”

“Where is Andrew?” Neil questioned. 

“He just dosed up, so heʻs out cold somewhere. Heʻs going to crash and reboot into crazy mode.”

“You donʻt think heʻs crazy now?” Kit listened to his brother rolling his eyes as he started stretching.

“No, not crazy,” Nicky paused for a moment trying to get the right word out of his head. “Soulless more than anything.” 

Neil looked at Nicky a little confused but what he was saying about his cousin. Kit picked up the bucket of balls that Nicky left near them and made his way to half-court. Neil followed his brother and Nicky, idly poking his fingers through the netting on his new racquet. 

Neil looked over at Kevin who was watching the new set of twins closely and asked, “Kevin canʻt really play, can he? They said itʻd be a miracle if he ever picked up a racquet ever again.”

Kit froze up for a second, he didnʻt like hearing about what happened to Kevin since if he stayed that could have been him in some respects.

“His left handʻs pretty much out,” Nicky explained. “Heʻs playing as a rightie from now on.” 

Neil kind of was taken aback by what Nicky said but Kit really wasnʻt. “What?”

Nicky grinned looking at Neil, happy that he was able to have dropped this bombshell. “They donʻt call him an obsessive genius for nothing, you know.”

“He is a genius,” Kit said, tossing his racquet from hand to hand. “Itʻs also spite.”

“That too,” Nicky said. “I wish I could see the look on Rikoʻs face when we play our first game. Rat bastard.” 

Kit nodded along to what Nicky said, Riko was a rat bastard, the pounding of Kevinʻs fist on the wall trying to tell them to hurry up and get started. Kit rolled his eyes at what Kevin was doing and smirked a little behind his helmet, even after four years Kevin was still the same. 

Nicky just waved him off, not wanting to be here in the first place but ʻwhat Kevin wants he getsʻ. “Weʻre doing this in our free time, you know!” He yelled back, not really caring that Kevin couldnʻt hear him.

“Thank you,” Neil said belatedly. 

“Huh? Oh, no. Donʻt worry about it. You can make it up to me some other time when the others arenʻt around.” 

Kit paused his stretching for a moment to look at Nicky, holding his new racquet tightly. “Can you not hit on my brother when I am right here? Or could you just not hit on my brother at all?” Kit asked, looking at his brother and then at Nicky.

“Donʻt worry I didnʻt forget about you Kit, you and me can get to know each other better as well,” Nicky winked and shrugged. “Erik wouldnʻt mind if I'm talking to boys as fine as you two.” 

Neil thought for a moment, neither him or Kit knew about any Fox past or present with that name. “Who is Erik?”

“Oh, heʻs my husband,” Nicky said happily, Kit felt himself smile a little at that. “Or will be, eventually. He was my home-stay brother for a year in Berlin and we moved in together after graduation.” 

Kit immediately looked to Neil to see him think for a moment, Kit knew what he was thinking, were they in Germany when he was there? By the time that Nicky landed there they would have been in Switzerland, but there was a slim chance that they could have been in the same country at the same time. 

“Ja,” Nicky said. “You heard us earlier with the mumbo-jumbo right? That was German. The little punks studied it at high school because they knew I could help them pass. If either of you pick German as your elective here, just let me know and Iʻll tutor you. Iʻm good with my tongue.” Nicky finished with a wink making Kit groan, getting a little annoyed that they werenʻt playing already.

“Enough. Letʻs play.” Kit said, taking one of the balls out of the bucket and throwing it up, catching it in his net.

Kit heard Nicky scoff and then started talking to Neil, all Kit could do was roll his eyes as he started throwing the ball against the wall and ran to catch it, swapping the racquet between his hands as he ran to catch each ball, running from left to right and using both hands to aim. He always did this when he was bored, it was a good way to work on angles, power and reaction speed, once Kit had enough of Nicky and Neil talking he spun to face them and aimed the ball between their faces at Kevinʻs who was watching them. Firing at almost full strength to get them to hurry up. 

“Come on, Iʻm getting bored here.” Kit said, looking at the trio that was now watching him, Neil knew how Kit got when he was delayed from training. Kit used his free hand to put his ponytail down the back of his shirt as Nicky nodded at them, still a little shaken up at the ball being so close to his face.

The next hour and a half there was spent going over and teaching the twins drills, it took Neil a little longer to get a hang of the new ones while Kit was getting reacquainted with old drills. They ended with a short scrimmage, Neil being the striker against Nicky and Kit as the backliners and an open goal. 

Now Nicky wasnʻt the best backerliner in the NCAA by far, but he was a lot better than any high schoolers that Neil had played against, while Neil had never actually played against his brother until now and he was known as one of the best players in their area for highschool Exy. Kit didnʻt really play as hard as he did in games but it was good to play against his brother for once, he can help him a lot more now in what he needs to work on. 

Nicky called for them to stop as Neil caught the last ball on the rebound. He dropped it into the bucket and watched as Nicky and Kit had started unstrapping their helmets. Kit smiled a little as he pulled it off, pulling his hair out of the back of his shirt and going over to Neil to help undo the neck guard.

Kit knew that he would be coming back here to train by himself, he also didnʻt want this training session to end. Nicky looked at the brothers as Kit took a deep breath in finally having the neck guard off. “Howʻs that?”

“You are really good, I canʻt wait to scrimmage with the rest of them.” Neil said, handing his brother his neck guard back. “It was fun.” 

“You are really good, Kevin should be happy working with you, and if the rest of the team is like you heʻll be happy working with you.” Kit said, taking off his gloves as he looked over to where Kevin was watching them.

“Kevin thinks that most of us are a waste of oxygen.” Nicky said with a shrug.

“I have a strong feeling that Kevin appreciates how you play, along with the others, Neil and I might not be up to where you need us but I feel like we will be up to where you guys need us soon enough.” Kit said to Nicky, keeping an eye on Kevin who at some point had grabbed his racquet and was spinning it in his hands.

“I can see why Kevin personally picked both of you, speaking of Kevin,” Nicky said, tipping his head towards Kevin who was watching them intently, also showing that Andrew had gotten to the bench at one point or another, laying on it as he threw a ball. “It looks like he canʻt wait to get his hands on you two, Kit I heard from him that you play more than one position? Looks like he will be extra hard on you.” 

All Kit could do was scoff at what Nicky said, he felt a little more at home having Kevinʻs intense stare on him and his brother, up until four years ago this was a normal feeling.

“Fear for your life,” Nicky said. “Heʻs not a forgiving tutor, and he doesnʻt know how to play nice. Kevin can piss anyone off on an Exy court, up to and including a drugged Andrew. Well, anyone except Renee, but sheʻs not human so she doesnʻt count.” 

At this point Kit zoned out and started stretching out his legs and arms, once he saw Nicky moving to the door he followed with his new racquet over his shoulder as they walked out. Andrew sat up and slammed the door shut behind them and tossed the ball he was playing with to Nicky. He had the whisky with him, picking it off the floor next to the bench.

“About time,” he said looking at the three. “Nicky, itʻs so boring waiting on you.”

“Weʻre done now,” Nicky said, hooking his helmet over the end of his racquet so he could grab at the whisky. “Donʻt you think that itʻs about time that you stop that? Abbyʻs going to beat me senseless if she realizes youʻve been drinking.” 

“Dosenʻt sound like my problem.” Andrew said, looking at his cousin with a brilliant smile.

Nicky looked around for help, realizing that no one was going to help him; he just mimed blowing his brains out before heading to the locker room. Kit looked at his brother and looked at Kevin, Kit rolled his eyes as he tried to pull his brother away from looking at Kevin.

Kit soon enough made eye contact with Kevin, seeing a look that he hadnʻt seen in a while, an annoyed look towards his brother. “This is going to be a very long season with you Neil.” 

“We told you we werenʻt ready.” Kit said holding onto the back of his brotherʻs shirt.

Kevin looked at Kit and raised an eyebrow, he would have known that he wasnʻt talking to him but an attack against his brother is an attack against him. “And you both also said that you werenʻt going to play with me but here you both are.” 

Neither Kit nor Neil could say anything back against his accusation. Kit watched as Kevin got right up into Neilʻs face and tangled his fingers through the net. He started to pull it away, Neil just held on tighter, not letting this slip out of his fingers. Kit let go of Neilʻs shirt and took a step beck, having a feeling of where Kevin was going with this.

“If you wonʻt play with me, youʻll play for me,” Kevin said, never looking away from Neil. “Youʻre never going to get there on your own, so give me your game.”

Kit moved back, close enough to Andrew who thought that this would be a good time to talk to him. “Kit! Itʻs good to meet you again.” 

Kit tore his eyes away from his brother and Kevin to look down at Andrew who was sitting on the bench again, whisky in his hand. “Smart what you did today Andrew, wanting to meet me and my brother sober.” 

Andrew raised an eyebrow at Kit, his smile still plastered on his face, to Andrew there was something about him that seemed interesting, the same with Neil. “Did you or your brother figure it out first, Columbo?” 

“I knew that something was off with ʻAaronʻ when he got us, but let's just say I have good intuition. You two might be twins but your personalities are very different.” Kit replied, twirling his racquet between his fingers as he looked over at Kevin and Neil.

“Neil understands.” Kevin said, sending a pointed look towards Andrew and then at Kit, in a sort of way to tell him that they were talking after this.

“Congratulations are in order, I suppose! Since I have none to give, I will tell the others to respond appropriately.” Andrew got up, swinging to his feet holding the whisky and taking a swig from it. “Neil! Hello. So we meet again.” 

Neil looked at his brother before looking at Andrew. “We met earlier,” Neil said. “If this is another trick, just let it go.”

“Itʻs not a trick Neil…” Kit said softly as he looked at Kevin, walking over to him past his brother and Andrew.

Andrew grinned at him around the mouth of his bottle. "Don't be so suspicious. You saw me take my medicine. If I hadn't, I'd be keeled over somewhere by now puking from the withdrawal. As it is, I might puke from all the fanaticism going around."

"He's high," Kevin told Neil. "He tells me when he's sober, so I always know. How did you figure it out?”

“They're twins, but they're not the same." Neil lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "One of them hates your obsession with Exy while the other couldn't care less."

Kevin looked to Andrew, but Andrew only had eyes for Neil and Kit, they both said things that were so similar. Andrew took a second to process those words before he started laughing. "He's a comedian, too? An athlete and a comic and a student. How multitalented, both of them. What grand additions to the Fox line. I can't wait to find out what else they can do. Perhaps we should throw a talent show and find out? But later. Kevin, we're going. I need food.”

Kevin looked at Andrew as he handed Neil his racquet back, Andrew just started walking off to the locker room and Kit motioned for Neil to follow Andrew. “Go Neil, Iʻll be there in a minute.” Kit said to his brother, Neil nodded and started walking off.

A tight pull in Kitʻs stomach hurt seeing his brother leave, for the past four years he had never let Neil out of his sight other than to change.

“Like I said when I asked you and your brother to sign in Millport.” Kevin said looking down at Kit, who was holding his racquet tightly in his hand. “You have a very high natural talent, I want you to give me your game.” Kevin spoke, giving Kit a once over, noticing the small scars on his upper arms and around the base of his neck that the neck guard was once covering.

Kit stood there for a moment, when he was 12 he had already given his game to Kevin, he trusted Kevin with a lot. Kevin knew the things that his father did to him, a few things that Riko did to him and Jean, and he knew vague information about the things that happened when he was in Australia. He resisted the urge to tell him that he had his game years ago. He was pulled out of his little moment in his head by Kevin trying to yank his racquet out of his hand.

Kit immediately latched onto the orange and white racquet holding it with everything that he had, he wasnʻt letting this chance slip out of his hands. “Iʻm not leaving, you can have my game Kevin,” Kit said, yanking his new racquet away, holding it to him. “Iʻm not going to make it easy on you Kev, you had my game the moment I signed that contract saying that I would play with you.” 

Before Kevin could say anything back, he turned away walking to the locker room. “Also thanks for the heavy!” Kit yelled out as Kevin started following him to the locker room, finding Andrew and Neil waiting for them.

Nicky was still in the showers so Kit just stood by his brother, Kevin looked at the two, their faces not red anymore but some sweat still there. “Weʻre not taking you two to Abbyʻs like that,” Kevin said. “Wash up.” 

“We donʻt shower with the team.” Kit said looking at Kevin.

“Weʻll wait, and if you donʻt want to wait on us, just go ahead. Weʻll find our way there.” Neil finished off for his brother.

“Nicky going to be a problem for you?” Andrew asked.

Neither Kit or Neil liked the looked of Andrewʻs manic smile, but they liked his veiled warning even less. “We donʻt have a problem with Nicky at all. We just value our privacy more.” Kit said looking up at Kevin who scoffed.

Kevin snapped his fingers at Neil and Kit. “You canʻt be shy if you're both going to be stars.”

Kit just rolled his eyes as he looked at his brother, Andrew leaned closer to Kevin and put his hand to his mouth like he was going to tell a secret but he didnʻt lower his voice. “They both have to hide their ouches, Kevin. I broke into Coachʻs cabinet and read their files. Bruises, you think, or scars, to. Canʻt be bruises if their parents arenʻt around to beat either of them, right.”

Kit froze up a little hearing what Andrew said and Neil felt cold all over. “What the fuck did you just say?”

“I donʻt care,” Kevin said to Andrew, ignoring the two brothers who were in some sort of shock from what he said. 

Andrew, in turn, ignored Kevin and gestured at Neil. "Showers aren't communal here. Coach put in stalls when he built the stadium. The board wouldn't pay for it—they didn't see the point—so it came out of Coach's own pocket. See for yourself if you don't believe me. You don't believe me, do you? I know you don't. That's probably for the best.”

Neil felt his brother grip tightly onto his bicep, feeling his hand shaking. “You had no right to read Kitʻs file nor mine.” 

Kit knew that there wouldnʻt have been a chance that Hernandez would have seen his scars, maybe another student saw them? Or maybe another teacher has seen them? No way that they could have, he did everything to make sure that no one.

Neil had told Kit about how Hernandez had to explain their situation, or at least as much as Hernandez understood it to be, to prove that the twins were a fit for the Foxesʻ halfway-house team. Both Neil and Kit felt betrayed, and right behind that was anger that Andrew had dug up those papers about them.

Andrew looked at the two brothers and started laughing , sounding delighted to have crossed such a personal line. "Relax, relax, relax. I made that up. We were locked in Coach Arizona's office to watch your game on the local TV station, and he said our secret meet-and-greet would be easy since you both always shower alone last. Told Coach he still couldn't find your parents. Coach asked if they'd be a problem, and Arizona said he didn't know because he hadn't met them a single time. Said they spent a lot of time commuting to their jobs in Phoenix and no time at all checking in on either of you. But I'm right, aren't I?”

Kitʻs hold on his brotherʻs arm, it took him everything in his willpower to not try and swing at Andrew, he went a little too far with his little accusation even though it was the truth. Kit felt Neil start to walk off, him still holding onto his upper arm he followed along, looking at where the showers were.

Much to Neil and Kitʻs surprise, Andrew was telling the truth about the showers. The walls were lined with stalls, tall enough to afford complete privacy and outfitted with locking doors.

“Weird, right?” Andrew said, having snuck up on them. Kit let go of his brotherʻs arm and spun around, throwing an elbow.

Andrew caught Kitʻs elbow, that would have smashed into his ribs, in a tight grip and before he stepped back he felt Kit tense up before laughing and stepping back. “Coach never explained why. Maybe he thought that we will need to grieve our tremendous losses in private. Nothing but the best for his rising stars, right?”

Kit shook his head and made his way to his locker, pushing past Andrew as Neil started talking to him. He heard the whole conversation, not feeling like stepping in at any point.

As the door to the locker room closed, the twins quickly gathered their clothes and showered quickly. Kit really hated showering, grimacing every time he ran his hands across his skin. He got dressed quickly, stepping out of the shower as he put his jacket on and went over to a bench to put his shoes on. 

Once Neil was ready they both went to the main room, Kit was trying to get his curly hair to not be so tangled. They met up with Nicky who showed the two where they could put their armor so it could dry out and where to put their uniform to be washed. Kit turned off the nights and Neil locked the doors behind them, and they found their way out to the car where Kevin and Andrew were waiting for them.

Nicky took the keys from Andrew and shook them at Neil and Kit. “You two pick who's getting shotgun. And you better enjoy it while you can. Kevin hates sitting in the back.” 

Kit looked at his brother and pointed to the front. “Neil gets shotgun.” Kit said as Kevin got in the back and Andrew held the door open for Kit, giving him a bow as he climbed into the middle. Kit didnʻt like the idea of Neil being between these two.

Neil climbed in the front, he was hoping that it would be a short ride. Kit started braiding his hair, knowing that if he didn't it would get really tangled, he glanced between Andrew and Kevin who were either side of him.

Abigail Winfield lived in a one-story house about five minutes from campus. Nicky parked at the curb since there were already two cars in the driveway. The front door was unlocked, so the cousins let themselves in without knocking, Kit stayed behind the trio with his brother, Aaron was there waiting for them, looking pissed off that he had to spend the afternoon with Wymack.

The house was filled with thick smells of garlic and warm tomato sauce, they walked into view of the kitchen to see Wymack grumbling about something as he dug through the cutlery draw and Abigail was stirring something on the stove. Once Coach spotted his Foxes he stabbed a finger in Nickyʻs direction.

“Hemmick, get over here and do something useful for once in your mangy life. Table needs you to set it.” 

“Aww, Coach,” Nicky complained as Abigail finally looked at the new arrivals in her house. “Why do you have to pick on me? You already started it Coach, why can't you finish it?”

“Shut your face Hemmick, get to work.” 

Abigail sighed as she set her spoon aside, putting a hand on Wymackʻs shoulder. “Canʻt you two behave when we have guests?”

Wymack did a thorough sweep of his Foxes, Kit was standing slightly behind Neil and grabbed onto his arm again, he wasnʻt one to like older people looking at him. “I don't see any guests. Both Neil and Kit are Foxes. He's not going to get any special treatment just because it's his first day. Don't want him thinking this team is anything but dysfunctional or June will be a rude wake-up call.”

Abigail just glared at Wymack. “David? Shut up and go check on the vegetables arenʻt boiling over. Kevin, check on the beard that is in the oven. Nicky, set the table. Andrew Joseph Minyard, that better not be what I think it is.” She moved forward to make a grab at the whisky that he had, but Andrew just laughed and ran out of the hallway.

Abigail looked like she was about to go after him but both Neil and Kit were in her way, Kit took a step back, tugging Neil out of the way as well. But she didnʻt do anything but shoot a murderous look towards Nicky, who immediately stuck his hands up in defense as he headed to go and start setting the table.

“What was I meant to do, take it off of him? No way in hell.” Nicky turned away along with everyone else to start doing their jobs.

Abigail ignored him in favor of facing Neil and Kit. “You two must be Neil and Kit, then. Iʻm Abby. Iʻm the nurse for the Foxes and temporary landlord to this lot. Theyʻre not harassing you two too much, have they?”

“No worries!” Andrew called out from somewhere else in the house. “These two are going to take work to break, I think? Give me until August, then they might be broken.”

“Donʻt you dare give us a repeat of last year-”  
  


“Then Bee will be there to pick up their broken and shattered pieces,” Andrew interrupted Abby as he reappeared in the doorway next to Kit who just looked at him. Andrew had lost his whiskey at some point and held his hands in a way to try and get her to calm down. “She did so well putting Matt back together, didnʻt she? Neither Neil or Kit will be a blink of her radar. You did invite her over, didnʻt you?”

“Yes I did, but she declined. She thought that it would make things awkward if she came.”

Kit looked at Abby and raised an eyebrow as Wymack started insulating the twins. “Whoʻs Bee?” 

Andrew looked at Kit and stuck another one of his stupid smiles on his face. “Beeʻs a shrink-” After this Kit just checked out of the conversation, not really caring to hear more about her, he never liked the idea of someone being able to figure you out and analyze everything that you say or do, he let go of Neilʻs arm and started rubbing his thumb on his left hand.

Hearing parts of the conversation Kit knew that they would have to see the shrink if he wanted to play, everyone's voices started to haze out as Kit just stood there, a hand on his shoulder made him jump and grip tightly onto the otherʻs wrist.

“Feisty I see.” Andrew laughed out as Kit tightened the grip that he had on his wrist, Neil looked at his brother and shook his head. 

“Donʻt touch me.” Kit said letting go of Andrewʻs wrist, seeing the lower part of his hand start to go red, everyone who was at the table were now looking at the Josten twins and Andrew.

Neil grabbed the sleeve of his brotherʻs jacket and pulled him over to a stop at the table away from Kevin and Andrew but sadly next to Nicky. Kit had lost his appetite, there was no conversation around the table as food was served.

Both Neil and Kit were sitting there nibbling at their lasagna, both of them trying to stay out of any of the conversation that they could, both more interested in watching how the team interacted with each other.

Every now and then the table conversation was split into Kevin and Wymack talking about other team recruits and spring training while Nicky regaled the other half of the table with gossip about movies and celebrities that neither of the Josten twins knew about. Andrew didnʻt contribute to any of the conversation and just watched Kevin and Wymack. Instead he hummed to himself and pushed his food around his plate, which Kit was also doing.

Around ten Wymack thought that it would be a good time to go, and Neil and Kit left with him. For both Neil and especially Kit getting in the car alone with him was the hardest thing that they had to do all day. Andrew was crazy but Kit hated and had a deep seeded distrust in any man old enough to be his and Neilʻs father. Kit spent the entire ride in the back seat, his leg bouncing up and down from a nervous tick that he had and scratching at his thumb, anytime that Wymack looked back in the mirror at him he tensed up a little. Maybe Wymack noticed the rigid set to his shoulders and said nothing to neither Kit nor Neil until they were back at his apartment.

Once Wymack closed and locked the front door Kit took it upon himself to put a little more distance between him and Wymack, Neil followed along, both hoping that he didnʻt notice. “Are they going to be a problem?” 

“Weʻll figure it out,” Neil said, taking a small glance at Kit who was fidgeting a little too much, he knew that his brother wanted to get out of here, not liking being locked in a small apartment with Wymack.

“They donʻt understand personal boundaries, or boundaries at all,” Wymack said looking at the two in front of them. “If they cross a line with either of you and you canʻt get them to back off, you come to me. Understand? I might not have perfect control over Andrew, but Kevin owes us his life and I can get to Andrew through him.” 

Kit looked at Wymack and shook his head as he went off down to the office. “I think that we can handle ourselves…” He grabbed his bag, opening it and seeing that everything was how he left it, he watched as his brother came in as well to get his bag out of the locked draw.

Kit stood up as Wymack was now standing in the doorway, watching them. “Do you two plan on wearing the same six outfits for the rest of the year?”

“Eight, actually,” Kit said, feeling a little trapped in the room. “And yes.” He took a step forward hoping that Wymack would move out of the doorway so he could keep his duffel in the lounge room, which he did, letting the skittish boy pass.

Kit took out his sleeping pants and light long sleeved shirt and put them on his duffel that now sat in front of the couch. Kit took out his runners and his pair of running tracksuit pants, he started to walk over to the bathroom to change when he was heading that way Neil was taking out his running gear having the same idea as his brother. Kit quickly changed his pants and put on his shoes, getting out just in time for Neil to go in and change.

Kit waited for his brother to meet him in the hallway, once he knew that Neil locked the door they both headed down the stairs to the ground level.

Neither of them knew where they were going or where they were, but Kit was fine with that and he knew Neil was too. Kit loved running because it helped him distract himself from all of the thoughts and memories that he didnʻt want to occupied his mind. Kit was free from his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you like the story so far!!


	4. Chapter 4

Kit spent the following morning following his brother around campus trying to remember the layout of it. He had gotten very little sleep last night but he knew that his brother had gotten some so he was okay. Once the two of them knew their way around they left the campus and went on a long run, looping around back to the campus.

“Neil, want to head to the stadium? We can get something to eat on the way, I just really want to warm up on the court just me and you.” Kit asked as he pointed over in the general direction of the bright orange stadium.

Neil looked at his brother and nodded, knowing that they at least have an hour before they were meant to meet the others. “Yeah, letʻs go.” 

The two jogged their way over to the stadium, Neil unlocking the doors that they needed open. The two of them quickly made their way into the locker room, getting their training clothes and getting changed with their privacy.

Once Kit was done he grabbed his heavy racquet and his goalie racquet, even though he would have to change into the bulkier armour if Kevin wanted him to practice as goalie he could test Neil for the moment. Grabbing a bucket of balls he made his way to the court seeing that Neil was waiting for him to bring the balls with him.

The two started stretching and not before long Kit was making shots at the goal, aiming for the harder parts of the goal to protect. Neil was watching his brother closely, he honestly admired even after three years of not playing he was still able to be almost perfect with his aim and power behind them. 

“Neil, you are going to aim for the goal and Iʻm going to defend okay? It will be a quick drill.” Kit said, grabbing his big flat racquet.

Both Kit and Neil were finishing up on the little drill that Kit thought was a good idea, when the cousins and Kevin arrived on the court. Neil was taking his last shots against his brother and Kit was smashing them away, Kevin watched now seeing what he would have to work on with Neil, he was aiming for easy to reach spots. Kit walked over to his brother as Kevin opened the door, pushing a laughing Andrew towards the goal that he was just defending.

Aaron and Nicky started moving the balls to the first-fourth line, knocking a few Neilʻs way, Kit was putting his goalie racquet out on their home benches as they all started up a few drills that they did yesterday and a few new ones to Neil and Kit. All of the exercises started getting more intense, Kit could start to see Neil getting more and more annoyed every time Andrew deflected every shot that he aimed his way. 

Kit smiled seeing his brother starting to get a little frustrated at this, Kit was only landing just under half of his shots on the goal, he made sure to watch how Andrew reacted to the balls being hit his way. After an hour and a half Kevin finally kicked everyone off his court but told Kit to stay as he can see what he needs to work on with his goal work. 

“Go Neil Iʻll be okay,” Kit said as he swapped his racquets, Neil nodded at his brother as Nicky watched him walk off to the court again. Kevin was watching him come on to the court, for a split second he felt like he was back at Evermore with Jean and Riko, training day in and day out for something that meant so much to him.

“Alright, get in the goal.” Kevin said point to the goal, Andrew just moved to the side and leaned against the wall at the halfway line, interested in how this was going to play out.

Kit deflected and smashed just over half of Kevinʻs goals down the court, he remembered where Kevin liked to go for the goals but sometimes it was hard for him because out of habit going for the opposite side of the goal. Kevin soon stopped hitting them, looking at Kit and nodded. 

“Work on your reaction time, you need to work on reading the strikerʻs body language when they go and aim for the goal.” Kevin said as Kit nodded, taking a deep breath in, a flash of black and red filled his vision for a moment.

Kit closed his eyes and shook his head quickly before Kevin spoke again. “Both of you, go see what the hell is taking them so long.” 

Andrew just headed for the door with Kit following close behind him, neither of them said a word to each other as they made their way to the locker room. Andrew slammed the door open and Kit swept over them, he was kind of surprised to see them still standing here, he thought that they would have seen them down in the tunnel. “Kevin wants to know what the hell was taking you three so long.” Kit said looking at his brother, a little worried. Neil looked a little annoyed, that is not a good sign.

“Did you get lost or something?” 

“Nickyʻs scheming to rape Neil and Kit,” Aaron said crossing his arms, Kit looked at his brother wide-eyed with a sick feeling in his stomach, only to be waved off. “There are a couple of flaws in his plans that he needs to work out first, but heʻll get there sooner or later.” 

Kit froze up a little seeing Nicky walking over to the door. “Youʻre such an asshole.”

Kit moved closer to Neil, standing between him and Nicky, not wanting him to get any closer to Neil. To him it didnʻt matter if it was a joke, that kind of thing wasnʻt something to be making jokes about.

“Wow, Nicky,” Andrew said, noticing how Kit looked like he was about to punch Nicky for that comment. “You start early.” 

“Can you blame me?” Nicky glanced at Kit and then back at Neil. He only took his eyes off Andrew for a second, but that was long enough for Andrew to lunge at him. Andrew caught Nicky's jersey in one hand and threw him hard up against the wall. Nicky grunted at the impact but made no move to shove Andrew off when Andrew leaned up against him. Kit quickly moved next to his brother as he looked from Nicky to Aaron, but Aaron appeared unmoved and unsurprised by the sudden violence. Kit looked back at Andrew and waited to see how this played out.

"Hey, Nicky," Andrew said in stage-whisper German. "Don't touch either of them, you understand?"

"You know I'd never hurt either of them. If one of them says yes—"

"I said no."

"Jesus, you're greedy," Nicky said. "You already have Kevin. Why does it—”

Kit stood there for a second wondering why Nicky had stopped talking then he realized why. Andrew had a short knife pressed into Nickyʻs jersey. Kit wondered where he had gotten it from and what if he wore it onto the court? With all of that aside he turned his attention back to Andrew talking.

“Shh, Nicky, shh,” Andrew sounded like he was trying to get a child to calm down. “Why the long face? Itʻs going to be okay.” 

Neither Kit nor Neil were strangers to violence. Kit just stared straight at them, he had heard this threat before, directed at him as well but the person saying it wasnʻt smiling as bright as Andrew. It was a little disturbing but nothing new to him, he knew that Andrew wasnʻt bluffing with his knife, if Nicky so much as breathed wrong Andrew could slide that knife through his ribs. Kit felt Neil step forward a little.

“Hey,” Neil spoke softly, looking at Andrewʻs back. “Thatʻs enough.”

“Quiet,” Nicky said in English, barely over a whisper. “Quiet. Itʻs fine.”

“Hey,” Kit said this time, ignoring the split second of a pleading look that Nicky sent him, a wrong move would have that knife sending Nicky to the hospital or being turned on him. There was someone that Kit could use to get through to Andrew.

“Are we playing or not?” He said. “Kevin is waiting for us to return with them, Andrew.” 

Andrew turned to Kit and Neil as if he had forgotten all about Kevin waiting for them. “Oh, youʻre right. Letʻs go or we will never hear the end of this.”

Andrew let go of Nicky, his weapon vanishing somewhere before he reached for the door. Aaron went up to Nicky and squeezed his shoulder on his way out. Nicky looked shaken as he watched the Minyard twins leave before realizing that Kit and Neil were standing there looking at him. He forced a smile onto his face that Kit couldnʻt even believe that he tried to pull off.

“On second thought, neither of you are my type after all,” Nicky said only after the door had closed behind his cousins. “You need any more water before we go out for round two?” 

“That wasnʻt okay Nicky.” Neil said as Kit grabbed his arm, he was still trying to ground himself, everything that just happened was all too familiar to past memories that he wished he could forget. Neil noticed his brother's tight grip on his arm and motioned for him that it was okay to leave. “Go Kit, Iʻll catch up.” 

Kit just nodded and kept his head down, not wanting to look at Nicky as he left, flashes of black and red popped up in his mind but that all got pushed aside when he made his way onto the court, seeing Kevin Day standing on the white and orange paw print in the middle with Andrew heading over to him. 

After a few moments Neil and Nicky made their way with Aaron, Kevin wasted no time in splitting the group up. “Aaron and Kit you are with me. Nicky and Andrew get the child. Two-man team scrimmage, empty away goal, Aaron and Kit you two will be switching every now and then. I want to see Kit be a goalie and backliner.” 

Neil looked at Kit who just shrugged. “Kevin, you know you are only a year older than us. I'm actually the youngest here.” Kit said as he held onto the orange racquet tightly. 

Kevin ignored that comment and started making his way to his position. “Shouldnʻt there be someone permanent in your goal? So Neil can practice shooting on him?”

“Donʻt worry Nicky, the only goals my brother will be getting is when Iʻm letting him.” Kit laughed out seeing his brother frown. “Donʻt worry Neil, Iʻll go easy on ya when I'm backliner.” 

Kit grabbed his big racquet and waited in the goals for the scrimmage to start, even though there were only six of them they all set up as if they had two full teams: Neil and Kevin spaced out on the half court line, Nicky at first-fourth, Aaron at far-fourth and Kit standing in the away goal. 

Upon hearing Andrew smash the ball down the court, Kit leaned against his racquet, using it as support, he watched Neil go forward but Aaron did nothing. Kit saw what Kevin was doing, waiting for the ball to come to him, Neil grabbed the ball only to have Kevin smash their racquets together, making Neilʻs racquet go flying in the opposite direction to the ball.

Kit hissed, knowing that his brother wouldnʻt be used to how harsh people like Kevin can get when playing Exy. Nicky tried to fend off Kevin but failed, Kit rolled his eyes as Kevin scored the goal. 

Kit watched, he knew that his brother wasnʻt going to get back here anytime soon, so, he got the pleasure of watching Aaron body check Neil, Aaron threw the lost ball to Kevin and then have Kevin score again. 

“Jesus Neil, havenʻt I taught you anything..?” Kit mumbled as Kevin kept him there for another ten mimutes, something that he didnʻt really want to.

“Kit, switch with Neil.” Kevin said, he was getting a little annoyed at Neil not being able to do anything right. 

Kit looked at his brother and shrugged, he knew that Neil wasnʻt happy with this but this is the first real time that he gets to play striker in a little while. All Kit could do was nod and change racquets.

The next round Neil was standing where Kit was and Kit was smiling like a maniac under his helmet as Andrew flung the ball up the court, Kit made the first move to get it, sprinting forward towards the ball. He saw that Kevin was waiting for him to get the ball, Kit grabbed the ball in his racquet, knowing that Kevin was doing the same thing to him as he did to Neil, he quickly flicked the ball at the wall, praying that Nicky could catch the rebound as Kevin slammed into him. Kit held his ground only stumbling a little as he went after the ball with Kevin hot on his trail, Aaron seemed to come out of nowhere, getting in his way for being open for Nicky to pass him the ball.

Kit faked right and went left, changing his racquet to his left hand as Nicky threw it in his direction, Kit caught it and saw that he was close enough to make the goal, he took a split second to aim and shot for the upper right corner because Neil was in the way and he didnʻt want to hit his brother. As Aaron slammed into him the goal lit up red, Nicky cheered as Kit smiled more giving a small thumbs up to his brother.

The next few sets of Kit regetting into the groove of how Kevin played he was put onto backliner, switching with Aaron. “Neil, back in, you see how your brother played? You need to be smarter with your moves and how you use the ball. Now actually try. Aaron, you're out, Kit, you are against your brother.” Kevin said as Aaron looked at Kit before he walked out to their home bench. 

Kit sighed and walked past his brother, he knew that he should take it easy on Neil but not too easy. The match started when Andrew threw the ball up the court again, both Neil and Kevin ran for the ball, Kit not too far behind Neil. Kit took a step back from Neil, watching him throw the ball that he caught at the wall, for him to get the rebound. Kit saw this immediately and ran for where the ball was going to go, Neil followed. Kit got the ball and ran about five steps with it before throwing it for Kevin, he knew how Kevin liked to play, fast and hard, so that's what he was going to do. Kit ran after Neil who went after the ball, knocking him into the wall as Kevin got the ball and made a goal. 

“Not meant to hurt you Neil…” Kit said looking at his brother who just waved him off.

“Itʻs good to see you playing hard like this again,” Neil said before they set up for another set.

After another 20 minutes of Kit playing backliner against his brother, Kevin called them all to an abrupt halt and pointed his racquet at Nicky. “Get out, get out now. Kit stay. Youʻll be doing this too.” 

“Oh, thank God,” Nicky said as he ran for the door.

Kevin waited until Nicky pulled the door closed behind him, then grabbed the grated front of Neil's helmet and dragged him toward Andrew's goal, seeing that Kit was already there, he didnʻt need to drag him over. Andrew finally took an interest in the proceedings and stood up straight. Kevin let go when Neil reached the fox paw marking the foul line.

"Ball," he said, and Andrew tossed it over. Kevin pushed it against Neil's chest until Neil took it. "Both of you stay here and fire on Andrew until he's tired. Maybe you'll score once Neil."

"Uh oh," Andrew said with a laugh. "This won't end well."

Kevin turned around and left, slamming the door behind him on his way out. Kit collected the bucket of balls from the north home corner where they'd stored it during their scrimmage. He set the bucket on first-fourth and went back to the foul line for Neilʻs first shot. 

Kit watched as Andrew smashed the ball with such power across the court, Kit just stood there watching as Neil got another ball hitting it at the goal only for it to be hit away. Kit put a hand on his brotherʻs shoulder in a sort of way of telling him that he was going to go, Kit grabbed a ball and slammed it towards the goal.

Andrew did the same thing to his shot that he did to Neilʻs, but Andrew noticed the very different styles in shots, Kitʻs shots seemed to have a lot more power behind them and where he was aiming reminded him of Kevin which let him get a few in, while Neilʻs was a lot more untrained and lacked power.

Kit stopped a little bit before his brother, his forearms were starting to hurt meaning that Neilʻs would probably be a numb mess. Kit knew that his brother had gone too far when he took a swing and lost his grip on his racquet. 

As Andrew laughed at the ball slowly rolling to his feet, Kit went over to his brother, keeping an eye on Andrew who picked up the ball and aimed for Neil. Kitʻs eyes widened and he immediately brought his arms up in front of him, stumbling back into his brother as a sharp pain ran down his right forearm. “Fuck…” It looked like tomorrow he was going to be playing with his left hand. Neil caught his brother only to let him fall to the floor, still not being able to feel his forearms.

“Letʻs go, Neil,” Andrew said watching as Kit rubbed his arm through his arm guards. “Tick tock. I wonʻt wait forever for you.” 

Kit watched as Neil went for his racquet, trying to raise it high, only to have his right arm spasm sharply and for him to lose his grip. Maybe running in front of one's brother and falling into his hurt arms was a bad idea.

“Oh no,” Andrew said. “I think Neil is in trouble.” 

Kit got up to see Neil trying to aim for the goal again before dropping his racquet again. “Neil, can I use the racquet for a moment.” Kit said seeing Neil look defeated, but gave his brother a nod. Kit knew that Kevin was watching their every move, he knew that he wouldnʻt want someone to play when they are injured but for Kit old habits die hard. 

Holding the racquet in his left hand he picked up a ball and aimed at the goal, swinging hard but not too hard at the goal seeing it light up as Andrew didn’t move. He then drops the racquet next to his brother and turned his attention to Andrew. “He’s done.” He said looking down at his brother who was slumped down next to his racquet.

Andrew left the goal to meet him but stopped with one foot on Neil's racquet. Kit watched as Neil tried to pull it out from under him, but he didn't have the strength. He was even less successful in his attempt to push Andrew off, and that hurt so much his vision crackled black.

"Get off my racquet."

“Get off his racquet.”

"Make me?" Andrew said, spreading his arms in invitation. "Try, anyway."

"Don't tempt me.” Kit said looking at Andrew, Kit watched as Andrewʻs mouth started moving again before he walked off, Neil lying on the court, Kit was just looking at the spot Andrew was just in and when the door slammed shut he looked at his brother. “Come on Neil, we need to get changed and go.” 

Kit started cleaning up the court, his right arm not throbbing in pain as he waited for his brother to get up. Once they were both in the locker room they both started taking off their armor, Kit hissing at the few bruises that he would have gotten off of Aaron and Kevin hitting into him and the one on his right forearm that had already started showing up.

“Neil, you need to learn when to stop. Pushing yourself this hard this fast, is not a good thing to be doing,” Kit whispered as he held his right arm to his stomach, he didnʻt want his brother to see his arms so once he was able to put his light jacket on over his shirt he did. 

Kit could feel his brother looking at him, Neil just sighed and nodded. “That's easier said than done, Kit, you have trained like a professional. I saw how you kept up with them and that’s all that I wanted to do.“ Neil headed for the door with Kit following bright behind. “I want to be able to prove to Kevin, that I am worth being on his team, he knows that you are worthy of it and I want to be as well.”

Kit didn’t reply to that, he didn’t know what to say. The two of them jogged back to Wymack’s place, keeping their jog slower than usual and they took the stairs up to the seventh floor. When they reached the door they found it open and saw Wymack standing in the hallway, waiting for them, with two cans of coffee grinds.

“Kevin called ahead to say you wouldn't be on the court tomorrow and that I should entertain you with clips of past games. He said you tried to blow your arms out against Andrew. You, Kit saved your brother from a ball that Andrew smacked directly at Neil and took it in the forearm. I said you two weren't that stupid. Which one of us is right?"

"I might have gotten carried away," Neil said.

Wymack tossed the coffee at Neil, Neil instinctively went to catch it but he couldn’t keep a grip on it so the can fell to the floor spilling the coffee grinds everywhere. Wymack turned to Kit and tossed the other can, Kit caught it with his left hand and passed it lightly to his right, his grip tightening around it harshly at the pain in his forearm, before he looked down at the can then looked back at Wymack. 

“I’m all good, nothing but a bruise.” Kit said as Wymack saw how tight his hand had gotten around the metal container, it was starting to show dents where his fingers were and his hand was going red.

Wymack stepped forward quickly towards the two. “You idiots.”

Kit flinched back harshly, dropping the can of coffee grinds, which joined Neilʻs on the floor. Out of instinct he grabbed onto Neilʻs arm. Neither Neil or Kit realized that they had reacted that badly until they saw Wymack freeze. His face going almost dangerously blank, both Kit and Neil dropped their gazes to the floor, Kit making sure that he didnʻt look away from Wymack entirely, he needed to see when he made a move. Kit held Neilʻs arm tightly as the silence dragged on, he was hoping that Wymack wouldnʻt speak until one of them did. 

“Today was my mistake,” Neil said quietly, grabbing onto Kitʻs wrist tightly trying to calm him down, to ground him. “It wonʻt happen a second time.” 

Wymack didnʻt answer. He didnʻt come closer either. Wymack pointed at length at the coffee grind covered floor. “Come here, no,” He said when he saw Kit quickly drop to his knees to start cleaning them up. “Leave it.” 

Kit stood up, Neil still holding onto his wrist tightly, they stepped over the mess and stood just out of arm's reach of Wymack. It was a little trick that Kit and Neil could look at anyoneʻs arms and figure out the safe distance from them in a heartbeat. If they moved to hit it gave them enough time to move. Either way neither of them would get hit with the full force of the hit.

“Look at me,” Wymack said. “Both of you, right now.” 

Kitʻs hand tightened in a fist as he dragged his stare away from Wymackʻs knees and up to his face, Neil just held his brotherʻs wrist tighter. Wymackʻs face just reminded Kit of someone, that person flashing in his place, but he knew better than to look away now.

“I have something that I want the two of you to understand," Wymack said. "I am a loud, grouchy old man. I like to yell and throw things. But I don't throw punches unless some punk is dumb enough to try me first. I have never, ever hit someone without provocation, and I'm sure as hell not going to start with you. You hear me?”

Kit gulped a little, he knew that Neil didnʻt believe him either, but both of them said, “Yes, Coach.” 

“Iʻm serious,” Wymack said. “Donʻt either of you dare be more afraid of me than you are of Andrew.” 

Kit nodded, he really wanted to tell Wymack it was because of his age but there was nothing that he could do about that. It was a no solution problem. “Yes, Coach.” 

Kit just sat there watching Neil eat, every now and then he took a bite but he wasnʻt feeling the best after what happened and the only sound breaking the silence was a vacuum. Wymack was in his office by the time Neil had finished eating and Kit was just watching the door, he needed to go on a run but with his brother going to sleep early he thought that it would be best if he didnʻt drag him out for a late night run. He laid down opposite his brother, a little sorry about how close they were sleeping and stayed up most of the night scratching at his old scars.

It took Kit less then a week to figure out that he needed to help his brother a lot more if he was going to try and meet Kevinʻs standards for him. It took all up two weeks to realize that Neil was going to need a lot longer than a Summer of training, Kit tried to help his brother out when he could but only got yelled at by Kevin. Old habits that he had years ago started to resurface when he started playing with a lot more Raven plays and tricks, trying to fit his style in with Kevinʻs.

Both Kit and Neil clocked in a faster mile than any of the others but due to Neilʻs lack of experience everyone else, including his brother, were better and stronger. Kit started making Kevinʻs job a bit more annoying when he wouldnʻt show a glimpse of understanding, hitting balls at his feet, missing things, just not caring. 

He knew that Neil was getting more annoyed and he wanted to try and help, he would always try and explain Kevinʻs drills and plays in a different way in hopes that Neil could get a better understanding of what was going on. Two weeks of playing with the overly dysfunctional group, Kit noticed that Kevin didnʻt have a hint or recognition in his eyes, which was a blessing.

It took Kit a week to be able to leave Neil in the apartment with Wymack, Neil knew that Kit had a really weird training schedule meaning that he liked getting up at odd hours and going on a run or going to the court and training by himself. Sometimes Neil would go with him but others he was too tired after putting out as much energy as he could to try and keep up with the rest of them.

By the third week Kit knew that Neil couldnʻt sleep, he knew that he was going over everything that he did wrong, Kit tried to stop him only to be told to go to sleep but that didnʻt stop him from being awake until his brother passed out. 

One night as Kit was getting ready to go on a run and head to the stadium, his old trusty green and gold racquet arrived that day and he couldnʻt wait to use it, he watched as Neil got up and followed him out the door. “Neil… You know if you let me help you, I can teach you,” Kit said as they started their way to Palmetto State.

All that Kit got in a reply was a head shake and a ʻno, thanksʻ, as they made their way through the dark neighborhood. Kit went back to his thinking, knowing that Neil didnʻt want to talk possibly until they got to the stadium.

As they arrived at the stadium, it was nothing new for this time of the night for Kit to say as unusual, a car here and there in the parking lot and the figure of a security guard walking around in another lot, but something out of place was the cousinʻs car in the lot. Kit stood back and let Neil punch in the code, Kit kept walking in knowing that someone was already in here.

“Neil, follow me,” Kit said softly as they made their way to the locker room, Kit stopped and let Neil look in other rooms to see if anyone was in there, but there wasnʻt. “Neil, come on,”

Kit led his brother to the foyer and pushed through the back door, the sound of a ball hitting hard against the perplex walls. Kit smiled as he walked forward to the inner court, the brothers saw Kevin, alone at the first fourth like with a bucket of balls but his side, and he was systematically heaving them at the wall. Kit knew immediately what drill Kevin was doing when he saw this, he was doing one of the Ravensʻ precision drills.

Kit normally did this when he was alone as well, he saw how Kevin was honing what he could with his right hand. Watching Kevin give it everything that he had in the middle of the night was something that Kit thought he would never see again, for a split second in his head when he blinked he saw red and black around Kevin. Kit quickly shook his head as he looked at Neil who looked on in amazement at how fierce and merciless Kevin was. 

Kevin was more demanding of himself than he was of anyone around him. He set his standards impossibly high and tried for them with everything he had, and he didn't understand why others wouldn't do the same.

Kit knew what Kevin was going through, he was falling back into bad habits, at night he trained until he couldn’t stand any longer, he had to get up to where he was all of those years ago when he was pushed to the breaking point with his training. 

It took him a little bit to figure out that someone else was there watching them, neither Kit or Neil had to look to know who it was; the intensity of the other man's stare set his nerves on edge with itʻs weight. He didn't turn to see where Andrew was.

“Won’t you play with him?” Neal asked, raising his voice just loud enough so Andrew could hear, Kit looked at his brother before returning to Kevin, seeing him hit the same spot over and over.

“No,” Andrew said, somewhere off to the twins right.

“You know that he would benefit a lot more if you did play with him,” Kit said, turning his gaze away from Kevin to look for Andrew, finding him sitting in the first stairwell about ten steps up. He was leaning forward, arms folded across his knees, as he stared Neil and Kit down. The blank expression on his face was startling.

Kit put a hand on Neil’s shoulder as he got a better look at Andrew, he looked like he was trying to sober up but coming off his medication was probably the only way he would be able to get proper sleep. He also got a better look at what Andrew was wearing, a baggy T-shirt and a pair of tracksuit pants, but the thing that caught Kit’s eye was the fact that he was wearing his signature armbands.

Most people like to joke about the fact that Andrew wore the armbands so they would be able to tell between him and his brother, but there had to be something more to the black material that completely covered his forearms other than a fashion choice if he was wearing them now.

Andrew caught onto the twins staring and slowly slid his fingers between his skin and the black band, slowly pulling out a long, slim blade. The bright lights of the stadium made the metal glisten but not a few seconds later and Andrew slid the blade back under the black cloth.

“Is that your attempt at a slow suicide or do you have sheaths built into those?” Neil asked Andrew as Kit looked at his brother shaking his head.

“Yes.”

“So, Andrew, how many of those do you have on you because I know for a fact that wasn’t the one that you tried to cut Nicky with,” Kit said, he was a little annoyed that he wasn’t able to start practising when he got here but he was going to have to settle for getting some interesting information out of Andrew.

“Enough.” Andrew said.

Kit started looking around the stadium trying to find something interesting enough to look at, still partly listening to Neil harp on about how they could get suspended if they found out that Andrew had knives on him and how he would be a big name for himself if he tired, he only jumped back into the conversation when Andrew brought up Neil and Kit into it.

Andrew's smile was small and cold. "You’ll both be something. Kevin says you'll be a champions. Four years and you'll go pro. Five years and you'll both be Court. He promised Coach. He promised the school board. The school board only wanted to sign off on you, Kit, but he argued until they signed off on both of you."

"He—what?" Neil stared at him, Kit had a hard time believing what Andrew was saying, there was no way that Kevin would fight so hard to have a pair of twins on his team. Because of how much Kit had been annoying Kevin, he could barely stand being on the same court as him or as Neil. He didn’t understand the proper reasoning why Andrew would tell such lies.

“Then Kevin finally got the okay to sign you two and you both hit the ground running," Andrew said. "Curious that two men with so much potential, who have so much fun, who could 'be something' wouldn't want any of it. Why is that?”

If Andrew was telling the truth at this moment both Kit and Neil knew that he was only telling a half truth, anyone could say that Neil was the brother that didn’t have the ‘natural’ talent. There would only be one real reason as to why Kevin would try so hard to go to such lengths to have both brothers. Maybe Kevin did remember who they were and said whatever he could to make sure that both of them got signed off. This made Kit start to think, did Kevin really remember who he was? Did he remember who Neil was? Did he remember what they all witnessed eight years ago? Did he remember all of the memories that they shared together all those years ago? 

Kit stood there, flashes of memories of him and Kevin learning Japanese so they could talk to Riko and his uncle and then learning French for Jean, the times that Kevin would help Kit when he got hurt while playing against people a lot older and stronger than him. The way that Kevin and Jean would help patch him up after things got a little too rough.

“I canʻt decide. Your loose ends arenʻt adding up.” Andrewʻs voice was enough to bring Kit out of his head.

“We arenʻt a maths problem, Andrew.” Kit said, finally finding his voice.

“But Iʻll still solve you, both of you.” 

Kit watched out of the corner of his eye that Neil turned away whereas he couldnʻt, he kept his gaze on Andrew, watching him as he stood up. Kevin must have been getting ready to leave. Kit watched as he got up and headed down the stadium stairs down to the inner court.

“You are both a conundrum,” Andrew said.

“Thank you.” Kit said watching as Andrew came closer to them.

“No, thank you,” Andrew said as he slipped past Kit and Neil without a look back. “I need a new toy to play with, now I have two.”

“We arenʻt toys.” 

“I guess, weʻll see.” 

Kevin closed the court door, gaining Kitʻs attention, he turned to him to see him looking past Andrew to Kit and Neil. Kit just stared back, he knew that Neil was too, looking for some kind of reasoning behind everything that Andrew had said to them. Kit tensed up, mentally preparing for the moment that Kevin called them both by their names, their real names.

But instead Kevin said, “Why are you two here?”

“I wanted to practice.” Neil said, not looking away from Kevin. 

“As if it will help you any.”

Kit scoffed, rolling his eyes at Kevin. “Iʻll be helping him, how is he meant to be getting better if he doesnʻt practice? I bring him here when I need someone to train with, even if itʻs at three am.” 

Kevin wasnʻt ready for Kit to talk back to him and defend his brother, Kevin didnʻt know that Kit came here when he was awake for hours on end, he didnʻt know that he practiced every Raven drill in the book.

Neil just looked at Kit as Kevin started taking off his gear, Andrew grabbing his gloves and helmet before they headed to the locker room, leaving just the twins there. Kit felt himself relax a bit before sitting down at the home bench, grabbing a ball out of the bucket.

“Youʻll make court, Neil,” Kit whispered, throwing the ball up and catching it, Neil didnʻt reply so Kit just let his mind wonder for a moment.

Mentally retracing their steps backwards. Arizona, then across Nevada to California. His grip tightened on the ball, remembering the black sands beach along Californiaʻs lost coast where their mother finally gave up fighting. Neither he nor Neil realized that she was injured that badly after a run in with their father in Seattle. Kit knew that she was bleeding all of the way through Oregon but didnʻt know that she was bleeding internally with with one of her kidneys and her liver ruptured and her intestines bruised beyond repair.

Kit never knew if she really figured out that something was majorly wrong but didnʻt want to risk stopping or if she didnʻt see the light fading away until they crossed the border into California when she started to lose consciousness. She took them down the treacherous path to the lost coast instead of going to a hospital. She stopped them six feet from the tide and made both of them repeat every promise that she had forced out of the twins: donʻt look back, donʻt slow down, and donʻt trust anyone. Be anyone but yourselves, and never be anyone for too long. And a few that were embedded into Kit was: Never let your brother play Exy, donʻt pick up a racquet again. Never, ever talk about that god forsaken game.

By the time Kit knew that she was saying goodbye, it was too late.

She died, right there, digging her fingernails into both of their forearms, thinking that somehow this would help her take another so dearly wanted breath, remembering this is something that will haunt Kit and Neil forever. The pain scratching down their arms, clawing open old wounds and making scars worse. Kit tried to pull her body out of the car once, not letting Neil touch her, but the sound of her blood ripping off the vinyl like Velcro made him stop, not wanting to feel anymore pain.

They just burned the car instead, dumping every emergency case of gasoline theyʻd gathered and brought with them, pouring them onto the seats so itʻd scorch her to the bone. Kit didnʻt cry when everything went up in flames, and he didnʻt flinch when him and Neil had to put her bones into her bag, carrying it two miles down the beach to bury her as deep down as they could.

The whole time they spent walking, getting to Millport, Kit kept Neil close to him. Kit knew that he should have been a little more upset at his motherʻs death, but he couldnʻt find it in him to feel bad for someone who was meant to be a protector, hurt and almost kill their own sons.

Kit shook his head as he dropped the ball that he was holding into the bucket, standing up and stood right outside the court. It was something that he was promised when he was growing up, but he left it and he thought that he would never have this chance again. But deep down he knew that this was something that was only temporary, when people started digging around too much into their past they would be out of here, leaving behind Kit and Neil Josten, leaving behind a chance to play the one sport that both of them lived for. 

Kit started on his way into the locker room, he needed to train and he knew that Neil needed to as well. After making sure that Andrew and Kevin were gone, they changed, grabbing their racquets with Kit grabbing his old special one.

Kit watched as Neil started practicing his own drills on the court, while he was working on his arm and power with both hands he yelled out a few tips that would prove useful to Neil, he needed to try and get back to where he was all those years ago but he knew that would take longer than a few weeks of normal training. Kit watched as Neil started packing things away, it took him a few moments to see the sun starting to come up, Kit looked at his brother and slightly upturned his lips.

“You did good this morning, Neil…” Kit said softly as they made their way back to the locker room to clean themselves up, Kit knew that they couldnʻt go back to Wymackʻs so crashing here wouldnʻt be too bad.

“I need to get up to where the rest of the team is Kit, you are already there and with a few more weeks of your weird training schedule youʻll be better then basically everyone,” Neil sighed as they started getting ready to show, Kit could hear the strain in his voice. “I wasnʻt brought up like you, I wasnʻt trained by the best, but I will give this everything that I got.” 

The two brothers didnʻt talk after that, only nodding to each other as they each claimed a couch to crash on, they both needed to train their asses off but Neil knew that Kit would always be there to help him.

They both eventually work up around noon. Well, Kit had already gone out and trained a little more at around 7 am until 10:30 am and took a short nap again after he changed. They both decided to head back to the apartment, Neil used the keys to get back into the building but Wymackʻs door was open a couple of inches and the sound of furious voices arguing could be heard clearly. Kit stepped forward trying to listen in, holding a hand out trying to get Neil to stay back but he didnʻt, both of them held their breaths, straining to make out the words.

“Damn it, Kevin, I said sit down!"

"I won't!" Kevin shot back. Kit had only heard Kevin with such fear and panic in his voice once before, but this side of him was a shock so he knew that something major was happening for him to be so afraid and worried. "How could you let him do this?"

"I don't have any say in this and you know it. Hey!"

There was a hard thud as bodies hit the wall, and Kit took advantage of the struggle to slip inside, pulling Neil in with him. Neil closed the door as quietly as he could, but his stealth was a wasted effort. It sounded like Wymack and Kevin were knocking over everything Wymack owned, and Neil winced at the sharp sound of shattering glass.

"Look at me," Wymack demanded. "Look at me, god damn you, and breathe."

"I warned Andrew he was going to come for me. I told him!”

Kit felt his heart stop, he had a very good idea on who the panicked Kevin was going on about, none other than Riko. He knew that this was going to be over for him and Neil if Riko was coming for Kevin. Kit thought for a moment if he was recognized by Riko he would be taken back too, or killed for running away.

“It doesn't matter. You signed a contract with me."

"He could pay off my scholarship in a heartbeat. You know he would. He'd pay you off and take me home and I—I can't go back there. I can't, I can't, I won't, I—I have to go. I have to go. I should go now, before he has to come for me. Maybe he'll forgive me if I go back. If I make him hunt me down any more than I have already he'll kill me for sure.”

Kit took a sharp breath in, feeling Neil put a hand on his shoulder, he held Neilʻs wrist tightly. Neil didnʻt fully know what Riko was capable of, and he was planning on keeping it that way but something was going to go wrong. He also couldnʻt let Kevin get taken away, he was his childhood friend, he helped him so much when Riko hurt him and he didnʻt want Kevin to go through that with Riko. 

Kit came out of his daze when there was silence, he heard Kevin saying that he couldnʻt tell Riko no, no one ever told Riko no. It was a death wish if you told him no, both Kit and Jean learnt that the hard way about six years ago.

He was quieter this time, but concern made his voice more gruff than comforting.

"I'm not letting you go back there," Wymack said. "Nothing says I have to. Your contract says you belong to me. He can send us all the money he wants, but you have to sign off on it before it means anything, and you're not going to. Okay? You let me and Andrew worry about Riko fuck-face. You worry about getting your game and team where they need to be. You promised me you could get us past the fourth match this year."

"That was before," Kevin said, miserable. "This is now."

"The ERC is giving us until June before they break the news-” Hearing Wymack say this made Kit want to take his brother and run, he had a pretty good idea as to why Kevin was starting to have a mental break down, it was to be expected when he was just given horrid news about Riko. This was going to be something hard hitting for the whole team, especially Kevin and Kit, they were the two that Riko needed back the most, he knew that they were still looking for him after he ran away all of those years ago. 

Kitʻs grip on his brotherʻs wrist was something else, he needed something stronger to ground him before he started freaking out.

“Tell me it isnʻt true,” French, Kevin speaking French was the thing that his brain decided to latch onto. “Tell me he didnʻt.” 

The sudden sharp slap of a phone snapping shut just helped confirm for the Josten twins that Kevin got that answer that he didnʻt want. 

“Wait here,” Wymack said, and a second later he stepped into the hallway. He was a little startled to see a pale Kit and a confused but shocked Neil at the end of the hallway but he said nothing. Kitʻs eyes never left Wymack as the headed into the kitchen, opening his liquor cabinet before returning to the lounge room with a bottle of vodka for Kevin, Kit honestly needed something to drink after this as well.

“Drink,” he said from out of sight. “Iʻll be right back.” 

Wymack came back down the hallway and Kit immediately opened the door softly, leading the group outside into the hall.

“I wasn't going to tell anyone else until June," Wymack said. "How much did you hear?"

"Kevin's having a nervous breakdown," Neil said. "I don't know why.”

“I have a good feeling that I know why,” Kit said softly, finally letting Neilʻs wrist go in the process. “The Ravens are moving into our district or Riko is going to pull as many strings as he needs to get Kevin to go back to Edgar Allan.” 

Kit hoped and prayed that none of what he just said was true, he knew that one of them had to be close to what was going on otherwise Kevin shouldnʻt be worrying so much.

Wymack raised an eyebrow at Kit, seeing how he was tapping his foot and how he saw how scared he looked before in the hallway, but said nothing of it thinking that's just how he was. “Edgar Allan put in a transfer request with the ERC and it was approved this morning. They're part of the southeastern district effective June 1st.”

It took those words of confirmation took a moment to fully sync and to both of the brothers' heads. But when it clicked for both of them it was like their worst nightmare came true. Kit could not face Riko. Neither of them could risk seeing Riko in person, just because Kevin couldn’t remember who either of them were that doesnʻt mean that Riko couldnʻt see through their disguises.

Kit just stood there listening to the conversation between Neil and Wymack, he was rocking back and forth on his feet as he listened. Wymack had very good points in why they chose to allow the move of the Ravenʻs into the southeastern district, it would bring so many more people into watch the games, to see Kevin and Riko back at it again but on opposite teams. The ERC were greedy, they knew that if they did this they would get something from the Moriyamas, no one really knew the true power they held behind closed doors.

“I brought him here," Wymack said. "He showed up at my hotel room at winter banquet with his hand a bloody mess. He didn't want us to notify the Ravens or take him to a hospital, so Abby bandaged him up as best she could and I put him on the bus back to South Carolina with us."

"That doesn't make sense," Neil said. "How'd he get from the ski resort to your hotel?”

“He wasn't in the mountains," Wymack said.

"But he broke his hand in a skiing accident," Neil said.

"Bullshit," Wymack said. "It wasn't an accident.”

“Kevin was getting better then Riko could have wanted, you could see when he was playing that he was holding himself back, Coach Moriyama wanted to see once and for all who was better. So he must have put them against each other,” Kit spoke, looking up at Wymack to see a bit of a stunned look in his face. “Anyone could see that Kevin was getting a lot better than Riko was, it would have to be the only way to explain what happened to him, right, Coach?”

Wymack stood there for a moment not really believing what his youngest fox just said. “Well kid you aren’t far off it, looks like you were a fan of Kevin’s to be able to spot something like that.” Wymack watched as Kit nodded in response to him being a fan. “Riko won," Wymack said, "but I'm thinking he didn't get it fair and square. If he had, maybe things would have turned out differently. As soon as Coach Moriyama dismissed them for the night Riko broke Kevin's hand.”

Hearing confirmation of Riko doing something that disgusting just to prove that he was better than someone else made Kit feel sick to his stomach.

In the moment of silence that followed Neil was the one to break it. “What?”

Wymack dragged his thumb along the back of his hand, tracing the path of Kevin's injury. "Kevin doesn't talk about his time at Evermore, but I could tell it wasn't the first time Riko or Moriyama laid a hand on him. It was just the first time Kevin was smart enough to pack his bags and walk away. So much for family, hm?”

Kit wished more than anything that he could speak up in this moment and tell him that he was right in his accusation against Riko and coach Moriyama and try to expose the things that happened at Evermore but he couldn't. 

“We donʻt believe in family.” Neil and Kit said together.

“But we have each other.” Kit added on in a whisper as he looked at Neil, neither of them really had a family but they had each other.

“Neither do I."

He meant it. Neil finally understood that look Wymack sent him in Millport, that perfect understanding that undid both Kit and Neil's defenses. Whatever broke Wymack happened so long ago he wasn't even bitter over it anymore, but he was definitely still cracked if he poured so much time into the Foxhole Court.

“Why doesnʻt anyone know about what Riko did to Kevin?” Neil asked, making Kit roll his eyes, he knew why but he never went into any kind of detail about the Moriyamaʻs with Neil.

“Because Riko is a Moriyama," Wymack said tiredly. "This is where it starts getting messy.”

Kit nodded along to Wymack’s explanation of the very complicated Moriyama family, he understood it very well because he grew up with most of his childhood being with that family and understanding and learning what they were capable of.

Once he heard Wymack start talking about the family’s job potential and talk about that VIP room in the stadium, He couldn’t help but think back to when Neil came into the court and played with him, Riko and Kevin, it was two strikers against two back liners. The game soon was cut short when they were called upstairs. Sometimes Kit gets flashbacks to that day, floor-to-ceiling tinted windows to the heavy conference table dominating it. The floor was carpeted, but someone had laid a tarp down on top of it to catch all the blood.

To Neil, it was all just now making sense but Kit worked it out years ago, their father worked out of Baltimore and held the eastern ports with an iron grip. His territory's western border would have ended at West Virginia. In that sense he was Tetsuji Moriyama's neighbor, and that would have brought him to Kengo's attention. Neil and Kit’s father and Riko's father were business partners; that's why Neil was allowed to practice at Edgar Allan's stadium and that’s also why Kit was given to their family at a ridiculously long young age to try and prove loyalty to the Moriyama’s.

Kit decided to keep quiet during the rest of the conversation, he really didn’t know what to say he was in the same position as Kevin but he ended up getting out of that as well. 

“Kevin wouldn't really go back," Neil said, disbelieving. "Not after what Riko did."

Wymack gave him a pitying look and so did Kit. "Tetsuji never formally adopted Kevin. Do you know why? Moriyamas don't believe in outsiders or equals. Tetsuji took Kevin in and took over his training, but he also gave Kevin to Riko—literally. Kevin isn't human to them. He's a project. He's a pet, and it's Riko's name on his leash. The same thing happened with Nicholas. Nicholas was in the same boat as him, given to Riko as a pet, a toy, a big money maker for the family, what team wouldn’t want an all round perfect player? But he went missing and no one has been able to find him.”

“The fact Kevin ran away is a miracle. If Tetsuji called tomorrow and told him to come home, Kevin would. He knows what Tetsuji would do to him if he refused. He'd be too afraid to say no.”

Kit felt sick being reminded that to the Moriyama family, he was nothing more than a money maker and Riko’s pet and toy and what would have been the perfect court, his hand immediately went to his throat, trying to forget the leash that he was under. Neil looked over at his brother in shock, he hadn’t heard anything about what happened to him at Evermore, Kit never wanted to talk about any of that so Neil thought that it would be best if he never brought it up.

Kit wanted to get out of there, he was getting sick of hearing all about the Moriyama family and just how horrible they really were. He needed to go on a run, do something to get his mind off of the thoughts and memories that were trying to push their way to the surface after he spent so long trying to lock them away. He had never been able to forget anything that Riko or Tetsuji did to him, he grew up in the public eye but because he wasnʻt in it as much as Kevin and Riko they got away with a lot more.

“-it,” A voice rang out. “Kit.” 

A hand was suddenly on his shoulder, Kit immediately grabbed the personʻs wrist and pulled it off of him, it took him a moment for his eyes to focus again. Kit quickly dropped Neilʻs hand before he let out a breath that he didnʻt remember that he was holding. 

“Fuck, Neil,” His own voice sounded a little foreign to him for a moment as he took in a deep breath, trying to get his heart to slow down. “Fuck, I didnʻt mean to do that, I-I was just out of it for a moment…” 

Neil just looked at Kit before pointing to the stairs, once he got a nod from Kit they started making their way down seven flights of stairs. Both of them knew that soon they would have to leave, the Moriyamaʻs were going to be too close to them, just because Kevin forgot who they both were doesnʻt mean that Tetsuji has. Itʻs hard to forget someone like The Butcher of Baltimore, itʻs even harder to forget that his wife and eldest son ran off, stealing five million dollars because she didnʻt want him to end up like her youngest, who was property of theirs for so long. 

Somewhere the ERC was reworking the games for this year, putting the lovely reunion of the Jostens and the Moriyamas in the twins' near future. They would quit before that match, they didn't have a choice. Kit knew that even staying that long could be very suicidal. Kit knew that they should leave now, before they met their teammates, before the ERC publicized their names and before they stepped on a court with Kevin Day. 

Kit shook his head, the thumping of his heart beat taking over his mind, he slammed the stairwell door open and Neil followed him. They were running before they even made it halfway across the lobby. Kit sprinted harder, hitting his full speed before he got to the footpath, hearing Neilʻs footsteps behind him scared him even more, flashbacks of everything flashing in his head whenever he closed his eyes. He needed to out run them, but he just couldnʻt out run his thoughts and memories.


	5. Chapter 5: Hallway Fights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The monsters learn something new about the Josten twins.

It was getting closer to official training for the Foxes, Monday the 10th of June, but all of them were required to move into their campus dorms the day before so they can all get settled into the athletesʻ dormitory. Kit saw their teammates estimated time up on a piece of paper on the fridge, the first was meant to arrive until two in the afternoon and the last not until five. Kit couldnʻt wait to have a team to play with and he knew that Neil couldnʻt either. Kevin was taking his frustration out on Neil and Kit, Kit also needed something to take out his stress which led to him spending hours on the court or in the gym by himself trying to tire himself out before he blew up at Kevin for pushing his brother around.

Kit could see Neil getting more and more annoyed and frustrated with how Kevin was treating him, Kit couldnʻt step up because of how he chose to present ʻKitʻ, he didnʻt want to start or get into any fights but if someone laid a hand on Neil that all goes out the window. 

Kit and Neil only had a few more hours before their teammates started to arrive, they grabbed their duffels and caught a ride with Wymack to the stadium, where Wymack collected a package of dorm keys for the team. Kit took his and the paperwork regarding the appropriate dorm behavior, he skim read the paper before signing all of the dotted lines that required him to. Wymack traded the Josten twinsʻ papers for the school catalogue. Kit just shoved it into his bag to read later, he already had a good idea on what he was going to be doing for the one term that he was going to be staying here.

“Neil, Iʻm going to train okay? Iʻll be back before they all start coming,” Kit spoke, putting his duffel down next to his brother who had curled up in one of the chairs to start looking through what courses Palmetto had on offer. “Check out their languages, if they have Spanish do it, you really need a refresh on that.” 

"Yeah, I donʻt get why you canʻt just teach me," Neil said as he waved his brother off to the locker room. "Just go and train."

Kit made his way to the locker room, grabbing his training uniform and headed to the toilets to change. Even though he was by himself he couldnʻt feel comfortable changing in a big area, he hated feeling exposed. As he changed he felt the bumpy and ridged skin under his shirt, his breath hitched as he closed his eyes and tugged on his armor and then his uniform over the top, he needed to get to training.

He shoved his clothes in his locker as he grabbed his green and gold racquet and one of the buckets of balls from the equipment room before heading out to the empty court. Opening the court door and closing it behind him, the quietness was welcoming, it was always something that he liked about being out here alone, no one nagging or yelling at him to do something different. No one but himself, to tell him what he was doing wrong.

Taking a deep breath Kit started warming up, running a few laps of the court for a few minutes before he started on his normal drills, trying to get better at his reaction time, aim and power with both hands. Everything went on like a blur of doing everything that he could for an hour and a half. 

By the time that he stopped and took a breather, his lungs were burning, sweat was running down his face and to his chin. Kit looked up at the clock to see that he spent an hour and forty minutes training, it didnʻt feel like that to him. Kit sighed, wiping the sweat off of his face with his shirt, because he knew that there was no one else in the arena to see him if he did so.

He started putting the balls into the bucket, removed his helmet and lugged everything back into the locker room, only to stop when he saw Neil holding his and Kitʻs duffels, standing at the door to the foyer. “Neil, where are you going?” Kit asked as he held his racquet tightly as he saw a look on Neil that he really didnʻt want to see, the feeling of being exposed.

“Just going to run some laps.” 

The sound of the exit door made the twins look towards it to see the arrival of a startlingly tall man. Kit frowned a little, he had just gotten used to being around Kevin and Nicky who were around 6ʻ2 and 6ʻ respectively only to have this Fox looking halfway to seven. 

Kit squinted a little trying to put a name to his face but nothing was clicking until he crossed the hall and held a hand out to Neil who accepted his hand, giving it a firm shake. Kit didnʻt move his helmetout of his hand and just gave Matt a nod instead, he didnʻt want to shake hands with a stranger. Keeping his eyes on his face, not wanting to look down at his faded but obvious track marks on both arms.

“Matt Boyd,” the man said, giving Kit a nod back. “Iʻm a junior this year, and Iʻm the Foxesʻ starting backliner. You must be Kit,” Matt then turned to Neil and smiled. “And you must be Neil.”

Both Kit and Neil were saved from the trouble of answering. Wymack must have heard Mattʻs arrival because he came out of his office to hurl a key at Mattʻs head. The noise of the keys was enough to get Mattʻs attention and he turned around just in time to get hit in the cheek with them. Matt snagged the keys as they fell and made a look at their coach.

“Jesus, Coach, good to see you too. When did we move past a simple hello?” 

Kit just shook his head and turned to Neil and pointed to the showers. “Iʻll be back in a minute okay?” Kit said, softly not gaining the attention of any of the others, he handed Neil his racquet, he wanted to keep it close to him now that they had a dorm to sleep in.

Kit dropped the bucket of balls off by the door to the locker room, knowing that someone would get it later. He grabbed his clothes from his locker as he took off his shoes and shin guards before heading to the shower. Avoiding looking down at himself every time he showered was hard but for him, it had to be done.

After cleaning himself he washed his hair, he honestly hated having long hair, it was another thing that someone could grab and use against him but he would rather have his hair pulled then someone figuring out who he was.

Even though him and his brother were identical twins there were a few differences between them, a few small scars were on Kit’s face: one through the end of his left eyebrow, one under the right side of his jaw, a very slight one going over the bridge of his nose. His cheekbones were a bit more predominant, his nose was a little bit out of whack from being broken and just he presented himself to the public was the reason why Neil was never thought of to be him.

Kit yanked softly at his hair, as much as he wanted to cut it he just couldn't. He quickly dried off, got dressed and went out to where he left his brother and Matt to see them both waiting for him.

Neil handed him his duffel bag which he graciously accepted, Neil was the only person that he trusted holding that bag. Even though Kit put most of the documents and photos and news articles from when he was with the Ravens to Neil to keep in his folder he still kept a few small photos and a piece of two names and emails on it. 

“Where are we heading?” Kit asked as they started making their way out of the stadium, he had to keep moving his hair away from his jumper not wanting any wet patches on it.

“Fox tower.” Matt replied when they got to the car park. Mattʻs truck was parked two spaces away from Wymackʻs and Abbyʻs cars, Kit was impressed with it if he was honest, it looked like a beast of a truck that could eat a whole through the stadium without slowing. The bed of the truck was full with furniture and only a few taut cords holding everything into place. The back seats in the extended cab were also full of suitcases and crates.

“Umm, do you want me to walk? Or are Neil and I going to share a seat?” Kit asked as he watched Matt throw a backpack into the back.

“Share, itʻs a short drive.” 

And with that Neil was half sitting in his brotherʻs lap and half on the center console, they had done this before so it wasnʻt weird for them. The truck came to life with a quiet roar making Kit huff a little at it, and the radio blasted to life a second later. Matt cut it off and yanked his door shut.

“We're not all bad, just so you know," Matt said as he pulled out of the parking lot. "Dan hated that your first impression of us would be the do-nothings. She was pretty sure that either of you wouldn't stick around long enough to meet the rest of us. She thought about coming back to campus early to be a buffer, but Coach told her not to bother. Said you had to deal with them eventually.”

“They are interesting, Iʻll give them all that.” Kit said.

“Interesting," Matt repeated. "That's the tamest description of them I've ever heard. Seriously, though. If they give you any trouble, just let me know. I'll kick Kevin's ass for you."

"Thanks, but I can handle them on my own," Neil replied, making his brother sigh a little before nodding. 

“I can handle them too,” Kit spoke up as he looked out at the school as they drove past.

"I thought I could handle them, too." Matt raked a hand through his hair, skewing his spikes every which way. "Andrew made it pretty clear he wasn't going to be handled by anyone. You change your mind, you know where to find me. My offer's good through till graduation."

Neither Kit or Neil would be needing Mattʻs help, but they both said, "Thanks."

Matt pointed out the windshield. "There it is.”

There it was, up on a hill, the athletesʻ dormitory standing four stories tall on its peak. The dormitory even had itʻs own computer lab and parking lot.

Matt pulled into the parking lot around back to see Andrewʻs car being the only one parked there. Matt drove over all of the empty parking spots and pulled up at the curb. It took all three of them to unload the truck onto the footpath, both Kit and Neil waited with the pile of things while Matt went and parked his truck. Even with three people working to get everything up onto the third floor it was a nightmare, especially since several pieces of furniture wouldnʻt fit in the elevator. The stairwell was too narrow and the handrails always seemed to be in the way as they tried to turn the corners at the landings. Something that made it more difficult for the trio was Kit and Neilʻs height difference to Matt and the fact that neither of them left their duffels down stairs with Mattʻs truck or up in the room.

Their suite was room 321. A kitchenette was off to one side right inside the door and the front room was a spacious living room. Four bare desks lined the walls, waiting to be covered in schoolwork and books. A short hall dead-ended at the bathroom and branched off into the bedroom. Two beds were bunked against one wall and another two beds were bunked against the other both had a short set of draws at each end. There was only one closet, but hanging dividers hung off the empty poll.

Eventually they pushed all the desks to the wall by the window, almost close enough to be touching, so Matt could put his couch against one long wall and a coffee table in the middle of the living room. Kit thought that now would be a good time to put his racquet down in the bedroom and check out the things that him and Neil would have to buy, placing it down in one corner of the room he started looking.

The mattresses were bare, which meant they were going to have to buy sheets. Neither of them had slept in a real bed since he left Seattle. They’d broken into cars to borrow backseats in California, slept on the bus to Nevada, and dozed in passenger seats while hitchhiking with truckers to Arizona. Their house in Millport had been unfurnished, so they’d slept on the floor with shirts as their pillows. Wymack's couch was the nicest thing either of them had in over a year, but now they both had a bed.

Sleeping alone would be disorienting.

Kit was used to having his brother next to him at all times, used to having him within arms reach, used to knowing that if something were to happen to Neil, Kit would be there to stop or to help him prevent it. Even with their mother, Neil and her would sleep back to back and Kit would sleep in front of Neil like a shield, all with guns under their pillows, even though they were uncomfortable lumps they were something that gave them reassurance and the feeling of protection.

“I'm heading to the airport to get Dan and Renee,” Matt said, somehow appearing in the hallway. “Want to come with?”

“No, we got to run to the store.” Kit said looking at Matt who just smiled at them and nodded.

“I'll be back in an hour so, and you can hitch a ride with us to the court then the girls are settled. Dan wonʻt believe that either of you are okay until she sees you with her own eyes.” 

“Weʻll be back by then.” Neil said, so Matt left.

Once Kit heard the door shut he finally took his duffel off of his shoulders, he watched as Neil started walking laps around the dorm. Kit had to admit, he was getting a sinking feeling about leaving their bags here with no proper security. Kit opened his duffel to see this folded clothes, he dug his hand into the bottom of the bag and slipped his hand in between the lining of the bag. Feeling the bits of paper in there he smiled a little pulling them out, a few of them were unreleased press photos of him, Kevin and Riko and a few others were of him and a few players in the under 18ʻs Exy Australian national team he helped coach when he was fourteen. He shook his head and decided to slip the worn photos back into their little pocket, in the order that would tell him if anyone had gone through them or not. Making sure that all of the creases and tares were in the right places.

“Come on Kit, we gotta get going,” Neil said, right after he had grabbed his wallet out of his duffel, making Kit do the same.

Kit nodded and watched as Neil triple-checked that he locked the dorm door on their way out. The next room down was the girlsʻ, and then it was the cousinʻs room. Nicky was leaning against his door frame, as if waiting for them because when he saw them he smiled.

“Hey strangers,” Nicky said. “Whatʻd you two think of Matt?” 

“He seems fine.” Both Kit and Neil said, wanting to get the conversation over with before it started so they didnʻt slow their pace as they walked past.

Kit and Neil took the stairs down, Kit looked over at Neilʻs watch at the front door and the two of them ran to the store. The aircon felt like heaven to the two brothers as they started walking down the aisles, Kit went over to the office and school supplies to get everything that they would need for classes and Neil went and grabbed everything else. 

Kit found something that would be useful, a fireproof safe: too small to fit either of their bags, definitely too small to fit any clothes but large enough for what they both needed. Kit grabbed it and showed Neil who just nodded in agreement, both heading to the checkout and piled everything onto the belt. Kitʻs trip back to the dormitory was a lot worse than Neilʻs, having to carry half the stuff and the safe.

Kit looked at Mattʻs truck sitting in the parking lot but ignored it, the girlsʻ flight must have gotten back early because Kit knew for a fact that it had been less than an hour since Matt left. Kit followed his brother running up the stairs and onto their floor, 

Nickyʻs door was closed, but now the girlʻs was partly open. Voices could be heard as Kit and Neil passed their room but neither of them could stop to say hello, they had something else more important on their mind. Kit watched as Neil tested the door knob, taking in a deep breath when he found that it was still locked.

Kit dumped their school supplies on the bedroom floor, he placed the safe in the small stop next to the groceries on the dresser. He started ripping off the cardboard padding, handing the instructions and warnings to Neil as he went to look at his racquet and his bag.

Neither of them looked like they had been moved but Kit always liked to inspect his things, picking up the racquet in his hands he looked at where he painted his last name on to it so see a little bit of the green paint under the gold lettering had been scratched off. He froze in place.

“Someone touched my racquet.” Kitʻs voice was barely above a whisper but it was enough for Neil to hear and immediately get out his bag and open it.

Kit dropped his racquet and opened his bag as well, freezing again. After living on the run Kit started to gain some of their motherʻs excessive paranoia, which led to Kit folding and packing his clothes in a very particular way. Much like Neilʻs it was in the tags. He always bent the tags on the top layer three times and twice on the bottom.

But as he looked at the top and bottom layers he could see that someone had gone through his things and put it all back, almost perfectly. Everything was in the same order, the same layers, the same neat folds but the tags on the top and bottom layers were all pressed out flat.

Kit immediately threw his clothes out of his bag and reached into the hidden compartment for the photos and slips of paper with a coded names and emails on it, going through them to make sure that none were missing and to make sure that everything lined up. They musnʻt have found these, he hoped that they didnʻt find these. 

“Neil… Is anything missing?” Kit asked as he turned to Neil as he was looking through his binder, it held a lot of things that the two brothers needed.

“Nothing.” Neil replied, he didnʻt sound too happy that someone had gone through their things just for a look, both Kit and Neil had a quarter of a million dollars in just cash and certificates, it would be hard to explain that to anyone.

Kitʻs stomach filled with anger and rage, he needed to find out who did this, he wasnʻt going to do the smart thing in this situation like their mother would have wanted them too. Kit could sense that Neil had had a gutful of this as well, sadly neither of them got their motherʻs self control.

Kit handed Neil the photos and the paper so he could put it into his binder, when Kit bent down he grabbed the two long thin needles that remained of their mothers lock picking set from the spine of the binder. Matt could have done this but his time and place didn’t match up, he wouldn’t have had time to pick up the girls from the airport with their stuff, unload their belongings and help them unpack in their dorm room and then have time to mess around with both of their duffel bags. So that took him out of it immediately, even though Matt seemed trustworthy Kit and Neil could not trust a man they just met.

So that left just one person who it could’ve been.

Kit was the first to storm out of the dorm room leaving Neil the job of locking the door, holding the lock pick got to work opening up the cousins door. This lock was quite easy compared to the one on their old locker room at Millport, whoever built this dormitory didn’t count on people like Kit, Neil and Andrew living here. Kit rose to his feet with an impatient Neil standing by to open the door.

“Don’t do anything too stupid, Neil.” Kit whispered in quiet Spanish, even though Neil had forgotten most of it he could still grasp at what he said.

Neil just looked at Kit and nodded as Kit moved behind him, and shoved the bedroom door open.

Andrewʻs lot was scattered around the living room. Aaron and Nicky were sunk into bean-bags and playing a video game, Kevin was reading a magazine at one of the desks and Andrew was sitting on the desk closest to the window so he could smoke. Everyone went still when the door slammed open and stared at Neil and Kit.

Kit watched Andrew as he was the first to react to their entrance, flicking his cigarette out of the window, smiling at them. “Try again, boys. Youʻre in the wrong room!”

Aaron paused the game and glanced back at the door and then looked at Nicky. “We locked that,” he said in German, it wasnʻt a question but a statement.

“Last I checked.” Nicky answered. He switched back to English to offer both Neil and Kit a friendly, “Hey, sounds like Mattʻs back. You two met Dan and Renee yet?”

Kit felt his hand tighten into a fist, he really hated that the cousins were using German to try and talk behind everyoneʻs backs, Kit knew better than to reveal that either him or Neil could speak German fluently.

But that didnʻt stop Kit from turning to Kevin, switching to French.

“Stay out of our things,” Neil snapped at Kevin first. Kit kept his eyes on Kevin who looked shell-shocked at the language and Neilʻs furious tone.

The others were just as shocked but he couldnʻt pay attention to them, his anger was something that gave him a one track mind. “The next time one of you goes where you donʻt belong, I swear, Iʻll make you regret it,” Kit snapped at Kevin making all of them turn their attention to him.

It was a long time before anyone responded. Nicky was too busy being shocked at the twins to say anything, and Aaron was looking at Kevin as if waiting for a translation. Andrewʻs surprise gave way to what a fool might mistake for delight, and leaned forward on the desk.

“Wow, another one of Kit and Neilʻs many talents. How many could one man have?”

Kit ignored Andrewʻs words and kept his attention on Kevin. “Tell us you understand.”

“I understand,” Kevin replied in French, “But I donʻt care.”

Kit stood slightly in front of Neil and started talking. “Iʻve let you push my brother around for two weeks, he has let you push him around for two weeks. Because we both know that you are scared about the district change but what you did crossed a line.” 

“Andrewʻs going to find out about it at the meeting tonight. You should be prepping to handle that blow up instead of harassing me.” Neil stepped in, seeing where Kit was going with all of this.

“Neil, you worry about your incompetence. Iʻll worry about Andrew.” 

“Youʻd better,” Kit said. “Put a leash on you pet monster or we will.”

“What? Frightened children like you?”

“Fuck you, cripple.” Neil spat out.

Across the room Kevinʻs face went white, Kit spun around to look at his brother so quick, he told him not to do anything so stupid.

“What did you just call me?” 

Kit whispered in a mix of Spanish and French as he put an arm out to push Neil back towards the door. “Neil, I swear to God if you-”

“I called you a dead-weight has-been.” As soon as those words left Neilʻs mouth, Kit pushed him back out the door.

Kevin was out of his chair so fast he knocked it over. Kit slammed the door shut and pushed Neil behind him. Theyʻd only made it two steps back to their room when Kevin yanked the door open.

Kevin pushed Kit out of the way as he went for Neil. Kit winced a little as the pain in his elbow as he landed on the floor, not expecting to be pushed out of the way so harshly, but once Kit saw Neil being strangled and pushed up against the wall. He sprung up and grabbed at Kevinʻs wrists tightly.

“Get the fuck off of him, you cripple!” Kit yelled out in French, he knew that it was wrong to call him that but he needed to have Kevinʻs attention off of Neil and onto him. Kevin let go of Neil and grabbed Kit by his neck, hitting him harder against the concrete wall.

“The fuck did you just call me.” 

Kit held tightly onto Kevinʻs right wrist as he tried to get air, he smiled a little as the hallway around him changed to black for a moment. “Fuck you.” Kit spat out.

The hallway filled with Foxes, trying to figure out what all the noise was. Andrew was the first to show up in the cousinʻs doorway, but Matt was the one who went for Kevin. Kit watched as Matt wrapped an arm around his throat and tilted his head back at a dangerous angle.

“Get off him, Day,” Matt snarled.

Kit stood there with a smile on his face, he tried to use Nickyʻs voice to keep him together but once Kevin took a hand off of his neck to attack Matt with an elbow, he took this chance to kick his shin harshly. Matt took Kevinʻs moment of pain to pull him away from Kit and Neil.

Kit felt someoneʻs hands on his face, making him jump and grab their wrists tightly. The sounds of a fight and talking kept him in a weird daze before the person took one of their hands away and clicked in front of his face. Suddenly everything was in focus for Kit who was looking at his brother.

“You are an idiot, Neil, shouldnʻt have called him that.” Kit whispered in Spanish, none of the other Foxes seemed to be paying attention to the brothers but seemed to Nicky pick up on it.

Neil just shook his head, only understanding the first part of the sentence and they turned their attention back to the others, by now the girls had stepped in and were looking at Andrew who was the one talking.

“Youʻre looking at me like this is my fault.” Andrew wagged his finger at Dan with a smirk. “Look again, why donʻt you? Neil and Kit were at our room which meant they brought the fight to us. Dan, your bias is cruel and unprofessional.” 

Danielle Wilds turned on Neil and Kit next, seeing Neilʻs wrists still in Kitʻs tight grip. Kit looked at their captain who was taller than them but not by much. Her brown hair was cut mercilessly short and was disheveled from moving in. Kit let go of his brotherʻs wrists and let one hand go up to his neck as Dan gave Neil and him a quickie head-to-toe.

“Whatʻs the problem?”

“There isnʻt one, as long as Kevin keeps his hands off of my brother,” Kit said when Dan jerked a hand between the three of them.

Kit let go on Neilʻs wrists, stood up and said, “Be warned Day, do that to my brother again and I will not hesitate to break your other hand.” 

Kevin looked like he was ready to launch a punch at Kit but was stopped by Matt standing in their way. Kit shrugged off the glances he got at his threatening, he didnʻt think that anyone of them believed it at all, his hand was still rubbing his neck.

“This was just a difference of opinions. Nothing matters,” Neil said with a shrug, going to put a hand on Kitʻs shoulder, only to have it shrugged off.

“Weʻre all getting along splendidly,” Andrew said, that stupid smile never leaving his face. “Neil and Kit even agreed to ride with us to the stadium.” 

“Oh, they did?” Dan asked, obviously not believing Andrew.

“Wouldnʻt there be six people in a five seater?” Matt asked, Dan turned to him and hit his chest softly. 

“Oh, donʻt worry, weʻll fit four of us in the back.” Andrew said, looking at Kit and Neil who just nodded at what he said.

Everyone looked at Kit and Neil. Kit knew that it was suicidal but that fact didnʻt mean much anymore, not when Andrewʻs lot had been through their things. Kit and Neil both had massive damage control to do. 

“Yes,” Neil said as Kit looked at him, finally dropping his hand down from his bruising neck. “I figured Mattʻs truck would be full so I took them up on their offer.”

Kit watched as Matt put his hand on Danʻs arm, getting her to stop from arguing back. She sent a suspicious glare to Andrew. “I don't know who started this, but the fighting stops now.”

“Always an optimist,” Andrew said, turning to Kit and Neil to give them his two-fingered salute. “See you two soon. Donʻt run off now, okay?”

“Wouldnʻt dream of it,” Kit lied.

Andrew vanished into his room with Aaron and Nicky following, Kevin was the last to move. He sent Kit a chilling look before parting and slamming the door behind him. Kit didnʻt move, keeping his sight on the door, he didnʻt know how he was going to survive that car ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I hope that you all are liking the story so far!


	6. Chapter 6: Dealing with the past and new Foxes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: mentions of past self harm and child abuse

Kit was a little uncomfortable to say the least, he had gotten so used to Andrewʻs cracked lot and a volatile Wymack that he didnʻt think of a Fox being nice, his image of the Foxes was mostly what he had seen from the others. 

Now he was sitting on a lounge next to his brother, sipping on a glass of sweet iced tea and eating cookies that Renee had brought with her from home. They had asked Kit and Neil about the fight only once more but when they both brushed it aside, they didnʻt press either of them any more. Now the girls were going over charity events that they wanted to get the Foxes involved during the fall.

Kit wasnʻt really paying attention to anything in particular, the pain in his neck had died down but he knew that it might bruise. He looked at the girls, Dan was someone that he wanted to meet, even though she seemed friendly enough now that she was away from Andrew, Kit knew better than to provoke her. She was someone that was ʻmade out of sterner stuffʻ, anyone can see it in how she handled the ragtag team that was the Foxes.

Renee on the other hand was someone that Kit couldnʻt really work out. The Foxesʻ senior goalkeeper looked like someone who didnʻt qualify for the Foxesʻ halfway house, but Kit knew that looks could be deceiving. Kit could see why he called her ʻthe sweetheartʻ of the team, she had chin length, white hair with the bottom two inches dyed in alternating pastel colors. Her choice in conservative clothes and scant amounts of makeup all paired with a silver cross necklace, really warranted second looks.

At five, Wymack called them to let them know that Allison and Seth were on their way to the court from the airport. Everyone started clearing their glasses when Nicky showed up for Kit and Neil.

“Iʻm timing you,” Dan said, showing Nicky her watch. “I know how long it takes to get from here to the court, especially with how you drive. You take them both straight there.”

Nicky rolled his eyes at Dan and waved her off. “Have a little faith in me, Dan.”

Kit rolled his eyes a little at the conversation as he stretched out his back and fixed his jacket up by the time Nicky had told them to hurry up and go. Kit followed his brother out of the dorm, not saying bye to the upperclassmen as he left. 

Stepping into the hallway he saw Nicky jogging to the stairwell, Kit and Neil had to hurry after him. Nicky waited until they were in the stairwell to slow down. Nicky arched his eyebrows at Kit and Neil in exaggerated surprise. “So you two know French and you know Spanish, Kit?”

“Yes, Neil knows a very little Spanish so he understands the insults.” Kit said, Neil nodding in agreement.

Nicky waited a short moment to see if either of them would elaborate on their own. “Why French and Spanish?”

“Our motherʻs family is French.” That lie that Neil just told probably had their British mother turning over in her sandy grave. “And Kit learnt it in high school, and I learnt French. We taught each other. How did Kevin learn?” 

Kit knew exactly how Kevin learnt French, they learnt the same way. “You donʻt know?” Nicky asked. “You knew that he could speak it.” 

“We both overheard him talking in French once before,” Kit said hoping that they could just hurry up and get the car ride over.

“Jean taught him,” Nicky said. “Jean Moreau? He was imported from Marseille to play backliner. He, Kevin and Nic were tight, and he taught the two of them French on the sly.”

Kit just shook his head and walked down the stairs faster. Andrew was leaning against the car waiting for them. Kevin was already sitting in the passenger seat, and Aaron was sitting in the back alone. Nicky kept going around the car to the driverʻs seat, leaving Kit and Neil to Andrew and his nonexistent mercy.

“You both waited for us,” Andrew said with simulated surprise. “Liars who practice occasional honesty. Clever. Keeps people guessing. Very effective. I would know. I do it myself, you see. Come on, after you Neil.” 

Kit watched Neil climb in and started moving to get in himself. Climbing into the car he sat with one leg over Neilʻs lap, Andrew following Kit in, sitting close to Kit. He really thought about just sitting on his brotherʻs lap but he just let Andrew sit so close to him. As soon as Andrew slammed his door shut Nicky pulled out like he wanted to take the asphalt with him. 

Andrew sprawled against Kitʻs side, making him freeze up. “After everything weʻve done for the two of you, you have to start a fight with us. Shame, Kit. For shame Neil.” 

“You started this fight a month ago,” Neil said, grabbing onto his brotherʻs knee, seeing the tense set in his shoulders as if he was holding himself back from pushing Andrew away from him. “If you want it to stop, leave the both of us alone.” 

“I like fighting. Itʻs just troublesome when Coach and Abby and the other busybodies start to cry foul.” 

“You should show some consideration and stay out of our things.” Kit said, using all of his will power to not push Andrew off of him, he could not deal with someone being this close to him that wasnʻt Neil.

“How do you know it was us, anyway? It might have been Matt. Innocent until proven guilty fails on an Exy court.” 

“I havenʻt heard you deny it yet,” Neil butted in, trying to not let Kit get carried away with this but he just got his hand smacked off Kitʻs knee.

“Neither of you would believe me anyway.” 

“I donʻt believe a word you say.” 

Andrew grabbed Kitʻs chin, making him look at him, this made Kit grab Andrewʻs wrist tightly in a warning. “Believe this, Kit: you canʻt put me on a leash on me. Donʻt think you can, okay? And donʻt be stupid enough to tell other people that you will. Itʻs not safe. Youʻll make me want to break you and your brother.” 

“You?” Kit spat out, tightening his grip on Andrewʻs wrist, pulling his hand off of his chin. “You canʻt.” 

Andrewʻs smile only got wider. “Ohhh, that sounds like a challenge. Mother may I?”

“Our motherʻs dead. I know that she wouldnʻt care what you do.” 

“I know for sure that she never did,” Andrew said. “Well, she had to take offense to the dying part, but I thought that was rather fun. But youʻre right.” Andrew kept leaning on Kit, as he slapped the heel of his palm against his temple as if something had just occurred to him. “I do as I please. Both of you consider this your official invite, you suicidal wretches. Iʻm bringing you both to Columbia with us this Friday.” 

He let go of Kit and held up five fingers, smiling at the Josten twins through them. “You both have five days of training, five days to meet the others and deal with all of Coachʻs ridiculous bonding bullshit. Then itʻs our turn on Friday. You two get the lucky opportunity to get to know us off court.”

Once Andrew was fair enough away from Kit, he felt like he was finally able to breath again. Having someone so psychotic leaning against him was not what he wanted to happen today, well he didnʻt want anything that happened today to happen but here he is getting told that they would be going drinking in Columbia.

“Speak for yourself Neil, Iʻll be drinking.” Kit said softly as Andrew started talking about how they were all going to ʻfixʻ their little misunderstandings.

Kit thought for a moment, as Neil and Andrew went on about things that he wasnʻt bothered listening to that day, he just stared out of the windshield, hoping that this ride would be over soon. A sudden feeling of dread filled him as he went back to thinking on what happened today, he remembered what he saw when Kevin was choking him. It was someone that he wished was dead, but Kit knew that he wasnʻt going to get what he wanted anytime soon.

He turned his head when he heard the door to his right open, he saw Andrew getting out and immediately got off of Neil, hopping out of the car. Neil followed Kit immediately as Andrew pointed at the two of them.

“Look, both in one piece.” 

“Are either of you bleeding anywhere?” Matt asked, doing a once over of the freshmen.

“Nowhere vital,” Neil said, making Kit laugh at the joke.

“Why donʻt we wait inside for Seth and Allison?” Renee intervened smiling at them. “Weʻve got a while and itʻs a little warm out.” 

“Maybe they'll get in a crash on their way here and won't make it," Nicky said hopefully.

"Really, Nicky," Renee said. "That's a little inappropriate, don't you think?" 

She said it gently, with the hint of a smile on her face. It was subtler but somehow deadlier than the dirty looks Matt and Dan were sending Nicky, maybe because she was so sweetly disappointed in Nickyʻs attitude.

“Letʻs go,” Dan said, and led the way into the locker room.

Wymack and Abby were leaning on the entertainment center in the lounge when they arrived. Kit saw Danʻs annoyance fade as she greeted the pair. Andrewʻs lot went straight for one of the lounges, Kit pulled Neil over to a chair where they were able to look at the others. When Neil sat down Kit sat on the arm of the chair with one leg up by his chest and the other on the floor so he could keep his balance, they watched as Renee finished her greetings and sat on a couch with Matt, leaving a spot for Dan.

Kit started staring around the lounge, trying to find something interesting to look at while they waited for the last two Foxes to arrive. It took almost twenty minutes for the last two to arrive and the tension changing was felt by all when the door banged open. Kit noted how all of them reacted and saw a very clear division between them, creating four groups: Danʻs three, Andrewʻs four, the new arrivals and Neil and him.

Seth Gordon was the first into the room, he didnʻt look like he wanted to be here in the first place, and in his month away he obviously brought an attitude problem with him. He barely grunted at the staff in a greeting and he took a second to scowl fiercely at Kit and Neil. 

Kit only raised an eyebrow at this as he watched Seth threw himself into one of the open chairs, staring intently at the door waiting for his companion to arrive.

Kitʻs attention was turned to Allison Reynolds, who was only a second behind him. She stopped in the doorway to glower across her surly teammate. Kit blinked a little bit, he saw old pressed photos of her but she needed a second take. Allison looked like she was meant to be ready to walk down the runway at any moment with perfect platinum curls, spiked heels and skin tight dress.

Kit heard what was said between the three before Allison swept over the room with a look, her lip curling a little in scorn as she spotted Andrewʻs group. Her gaze settled on Kit and Neil, studying them for a moment. 

“Iʻm going to sit with you two.” She said. 

Kit watched her cross the room, walking over to his side of the chair and went to trail an arm around his shoulder as she walked to the other side, but he leant forward to avoid her touch. Kit had had enough unwanted touching for the rest of his life and he really didnʻt want to snap at someone else today. 

Kit raised an eyebrow at her as she sat on the other arm of the chair, snaking an arm around Neilʻs shoulders to keep herself from sliding off and she crossed her legs. Kit knew all too well but to look, his skin crawled with pain remembering every time that he looked at someone while he was on the run with his mother. She always noticed when either of them had lingering looks or their increasing distraction. She was afraid that theyʻd spill their secrets over a stupid childhood crush, she would beat them both like she could kill their hormones with her barehands. 

A few years of Kit getting the shit beat out of him, he finally got the hint: everyone was too dangerous to consort with.

Kit rolled his eyes at Neilʻs offer to move but the look that Seth was giving them was like he was trying to kill them with his willpower alone. Kit knew that he was going to be annoying this term and sharing a dorm with him was going to be annoying,

“This will be quick wonʻt it? It was a long flight and Iʻm exhausted.” Allison said looking at Wymack, making a hand gesture as if to tell him to get on with it.

“Youʻre the ones slowing this down,” Wymack said, and stabbed a finger at Kit and Neil. “First order of business: Neil Josten, our new striker sub and Kit Josten, our…” Wymack stopped for a moment trying to think of the right thing to say for the all round player. “Our own, I donʻt know but he is a sub for all positions. Got anything to say?” When Kit and Neil shook their heads, he proceeded to jerk a thumb between Allison and Seth. “You both already met everyone else. Hereʻs the last of them: Seth Gordon, starting striker, and Allison Reynolds, our defensive dealer. Questions, comments, concerns? Anyone?”

Seth pointed angrily at Neil and Kit and said, “Iʻm fucking concerned-”

Kit watched as Wymack just sighed and just started talking over him. “All right, moving on. Abby?” As Abby started handing out stacks of paper out to the Foxes. Kit just stared off into the corner of the room, listening to the important parts that he would need, like training starting at 8:30 and they would be beheading to the gym and all training would start at 6:00 when classes start. 

“Physicals get done before you leave today. Andrew, youʻre up first. Seth, youʻre going second-” 

Kit froze up when he heard the word ʻphysicalʻ, there had to be someway for him to get out of it but he doubted that he could play without getting one. His breath started to go rigid, Neil noticed this and so did Allison considering she was sitting on the same chair as them. Neil reached up with his hand to his brotherʻs ankle that was sitting up on the arm chair, and to no one's surprise Kit grabbed his wrist tightly.

Allison looked at the two brotherʻs a little confused as to what was going on but decided to leave it be and turn her attention back to the conversation about them having a new school in their district.

“Edgar Allanʻs come south.”

Both Kit and Neil took a deep breath in hearing the news even though they found out when Kevin did, it was still something that seemed unreal. Everyone started reacting, Dan thought that it was a joke, Seth started laughing. Aaron, Nicky and Matt were drowned out by each other as they all demanded answers. Allison made a shrill noise of disbelief that left both Neil and Kitʻs ears ringing.Renee, like Kit and Neil, watched Andrew and Kevin and said nothing on the subject.

Wymack tried to explain the ERCʻs logic to the whole district change, but he kept his attention on Andrew. It didnʻt take long for the rest of the team to notice his distraction, the questions and desperate pleas that this was a joke finally died out.

As it did, Andrewʻs smile returned. This time it was all teeth. Andrewʻs drugs made him manic, but they didnʻt make him any less vicious. Kit knew what that smile meant and braced for the worse.

“Hey, Kevin,” Andrew said. “Hear that? Someone really missed you.” 

After this Kit just sat there watching the two, hearing Kevin plead with Andrew to help him but Andrew just told Kevin the harsh reality of what he would really do, if Coach Moriyama told Kevin to go back he would in a heartbeat.

“Look at me,” Andrew said.

Kevin turned a haunted look on him, it was something that Kit was familiar with seeing. But seeing it on Kevin only made it worse for him, the despair could be felt all the way across the room and it just made everything feel so much worse. Kit honestly felt like he was going to be sick.

“Itʻll be fine,” Andrew said. “I promised, didnʻt I? Donʻt you believe me?” 

It took a while for Kevin to visibly relax, the dead edge melted out of his eyes as he absorbed every ounce of strength that Andrew could give him. Kit nodded a little, he didnʻt fully understand how Kevin could put so much trust into Andrew to protect him from the Moriyamas. But he respected that Kevin found someone that he was able to put all of his trust into, to have someone to rely on for something so serious.

Wymack watched them a minute longer, then nodded. "The ERC will make their official announcement later this month. They agreed to wait until you were all here where it's easier for us to protect you. That doesn't mean you can be careless. Chuck—that's our university president Charles Whittier, Neil and Kit—has reissued orders that reporters stay off our campus without a police escort this summer. You'll see twice as many campus police around, and I need all of you to save their number to your phones just in case. Understand?"

Kit didn't own a phone, but he and his brother joined the others in saying, "Yes, Coach.”

Kit took a deep breath in, tonight was going to be a long night for him, he could just tell. The room went silent, Neil was the first one to talk. “Anything else, Coach, or are we finished?”

“This is a big deal,” Dan said, turning her attention to the new set of twins. “This changes everything, neither of you would understand.”

“Neil and Kit found out when Kevin did," Wymack said. "I already had the talk with them, so they understand just fine. And no, there's nothing else. Abby, they're all yours. Do with them what you will.”

And with that statement Neil was up and heading for the door, Kit took a moment to realize that he was leaving and immediately went after him. Dan called out for the two of them to stop and come back, Abby told her something that Kit didnʻt manage to hear as Neil kept walking faster to get out of the stadium.

“Neil,” Kit finally spoke up as they reached the outside of the stadium. “Neil, wait. Where are you going?”

“Away from there Kit, I canʻt deal being in the same room as Kevin anymore,” Neil replied, not seeing that Renee had followed them out to bring Kit back. “Iʻve already had the physical done earlier today, I donʻt need to be here anymore.” 

Kit starred as his brother in disbelief, Kit thought that he would at least stay behind and wait for him. “Neil, stay and wait until I have mine done.”

Neil just looked at his brother and shook his head, Kit could see that Neil was getting restless, he knew deep down that he needed him there but he felt weak having to ask him to stay and wait for him. Kit knew better than to let himself be weak.

Renee watched the two brothers before coughing a little, both brothers turned to her. “Unfortunately this news means that Andrew wont be able to give either of you a ride back to the dorm,” she said before looking at Neil. “If youʻre okay with waiting a bit, Matt would be more than happy to give you a ride back.” 

Kit looked at Neil, he could see on his face that he wasnʻt going to stay. “Why does Kevin trust Andrew?” 

Renee smiled at Neil. “Because he knows that he can.” 

“With so much at stake,” Neil pressed on, making Kit just roll his eyes. Even though Renee looked innocent enough there was something behind her eyes that Kit could pick up on, something that made her like them. Neil couldnʻt pick up on it but Kit could, something made her worthy of being a Fox but something also helped her find herself. “With so much at stake he honestly thinks Andrew is enough?”

Renee held her hand out to Neil, Kit took a step away from his brother. “Neil,” she said, so gently, Kit knew that she heard everything that Neil was saying but she just ignored it. “Neil, please, wait for us.” 

Kit took another step back hearing her say that as he looked at Neil again. “Just go Neil, put the sheets on my bed, though?” Kit spoke, feeling defeated that his brother wouldnʻt stay with him but there was nothing that he could say, he didnʻt want to show his brother weakness, he was meant to be protecting him and how could he do that if he was weak.

“I know that way back. Thank you,” Neil said to Renee walking backwards before looking at Kit. “Got it.” 

Kit just watched as he rolled up his papers into a tube and jogged away, Kit couldnʻt take his eyes off of Neil as he started running at full speed. He wanted to go with him, he wanted to get away from everything that was going on, he wanted to get away from his thoughts but he couldnʻt. 

“Letʻs go back in,” Renee said turning to Kit, this was the first time that she got a proper look at him. She noticed that he was still watching Neil as he faded off into the distance. Renee went to reach out and put a hand on his shoulder, to try and comfort him but then she remembered how he reacted with Allison trying to do that earlier.

So she was left standing there with her hand floating about two inches away from his shoulder, Kit looked at her and raised an eyebrow. Normally people would just put their hand on his shoulder.

“I saw how you reacted when Allison went to put her hand across your back,” Renee answered with a soft smile, before pointing to the entrance. “Letʻs get back in there.” 

Kit nodded as they went back in, he didnʻt really know what to say to her. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that someone would have noticed that without having to tell them. “Thank you,” Kit said softly as they walked back, down the hallways. “For noticing, that is.” 

Renee just smiled and nodded at Kit as they got back into the lounge room, everyone turning their attention to the two of them.

“Where did your brother go?” Nicky asked, noticing that one of the twins was missing. 

Kit looked over them, to see Andrew had gone for the physical and Allison was sitting in the chair that he was sitting on.

“I donʻt know,” Kit stated with a shrug, he walked over to the chair that he was sitting on and stood next to it. Everyone returned to their previous conversations, Renee joined in with Matt and Dan, telling them that Neil had gone back to the dorms.

Seth was staring at Kit, but by the time he was going to say something Abby called him for his turn. Andrew sat down next to Kevin and thatʻs when he noticed that Neil was gone. 

“Where did that little rabbit go?” 

Kit just shook his head not wanting to reply, he crossed his arms over his chest, pulling his sleeves down as he did so. 

“He ran away and left the feisty one behind.” Andrew said, making Kit wish that he could punch the smile off of his face.

“Andrew, could you just shut up for once?” Kit asked, he really had enough of hearing it from him, he also didnʻt need to be reminded that his brother left him here.

Andrew just kept smiling at Kit for a moment before Dan stepped in and brought up something before Andrew could reply.

“So what do you guys think of them?” She turned and looked at Kit with a small smile, she took the attention off of him and turned it to his brother that wasnʻt there.

“Neil? That kid really needs to be more aggressive if he wants to survive on the court.” Aaron said.

Kit really couldnʻt defend his brother on that, it was true.

“Heʻs a fast runner, just like Kit. I bet that both of them could outrun anyone on this team,” Andrew said, glancing over at Kit who just rolled his eyes.

Wymack looked away from Kevin for a moment and looked out over the rest of his Foxes. “Both Neil and Kit clocked in a four minute mile back in Arizona.”

At this moment Seth came out of Abbyʻs office, Allison got up and passed Seth going into the nurses office. “Bullshit they could,” Seth growled hearing the statement from Wymack as he watched Kit sit down in the seat that Allison was just sitting in. Putting one of his legs up over the armrest, the other staying on the floor. “Someone like him and his brother, too short to run that fast.”

“Oh, geeze,” Kit said, his eyes not leaving Seth. “Thanks for the words of encouragement.” 

“Whatʻs your deal anyway?” Seth said, venom in his voice as he threw himself into his seat. “Why are you trying to be like that Nicholas kid that went missing all of those years ago?”

“Well, Seth, truth be told, Iʻm not trying to be like that kid that went missing. I just so happen to be able to play positions well,” Kit sighed, rolling his eyes, he really didnʻt like the fact that he was brought up again. “And the amount of times I have been asked if I was him, when he went missing years ago was annoying. I get that I might look like the missing kid and play like him, but that doesnʻt mean that I want to be like him Seth.” 

Renee and Dan looked at each other, noticing that Kit mentioned getting asked if he was Nicholas, they looked for a moment longer before nodding. “I mean I see why they ask if you were him, you look like him but anyone could tell that you arenʻt, itʻs obvious that you arent,” Dan said.

Everyone went quiet for a moment as Allison walked out, Matt got up and went in. Abby was getting through the Foxes pretty quickly, meaning that it would be Kitʻs turn soon enough. 

“Seth,” Wymack said looking at their fifth year striker. “These boys have a lot of potential. Neil needs a lot more work than Kit does though.” 

“Yeah, playing as backliner against Kit is like playing against Kevin.” Nicky said, trying to point out how good Kit was. “And when he was playing backliner against Kevin, he was actually giving the star a run for his money.” 

“It was interesting to watch Kevin and Neil score against him when he was in goal.” Aaron admitted, everyone looked at him a little confused, he wasnʻt one to praise anyone. 

“Kit has a natural talent, thatʻs why Kevin picked him. He knows talent when he sees it. Same goes with Neil,” Wymack said. 

After that everyone went back to their own groups and started talking about things that they did over the break. Kit just rested back against the armrest, his eyes staying at Abbyʻs office door.

Matt was the last of the other Foxes to go, Abby followed him and stood in the doorway looking at Kit. “Kit, you're the last one. You guys can wait for him, I wonʻt take long.” Abby directed at Dan and her group, knowing that they probably wanted to wait for Kit, to give him a lift back to the dorms.

Kit stood up, Andrewʻs lot left when Nicky finished his, so it was just the Danʻs group and Seth and Allison. Kit held his jacket close to him as he walked into the room, Abby closing the door behind her and locking it.

Kit sat down on the bed, as he looked at Abby. “Nothing to worry about, this is just a general check-up; weight, height, all of that kind of stuff.” 

Kit just nodded, it was easy the first part, getting his weight taken, his height and a few other tests but when it came to the blood test Kit got a little worried. But all he did was take his jacket off his shoulders, keeping it around his elbows, pulling up his short sleeve so she could take the blood.

Abby was a little confused as to why Kit just didnʻt take off his jacket but shrugged it off, she couldnʻt help but notice a few faint lines here and there along his bicep. Taking the two vials and putting them in a locked draw she turned to Kit and motioned at him and said, “Jacket and shirt off.”

Kit froze up for a moment, his heart pounding in his chest before letting out a panicked, “Wait, what? Why?”

“I canʻt check for track marks if you donʻt take them off, Kit.” 

“I-I…” Kit stuttered out, his shoulders going rigid as he held his arms closer to his stomach. He couldnʻt take either of them off, he didnʻt want her to see what was done to him.

Abby watched Kit stare at the locked door, his shoulders slightly shaking.

“Kit, I want to make this painless for the both of us, but I canʻt help you if you canʻt help me. Tell me why you wonʻt take your shirt or jacket off,” Abby said, her voice was soft, she saw how Neil was and deep down in her heart she was praying that it wouldnʻt be as bad as his.

“I-I donʻt want you to see..” Kit mumbled, his body starting to shake more, he kept his gaze away from her.

Abby reached out to grab his chin to make him look up at her, only to have him flinch backwards trying to get away from her. “Kit…” She whispered softly looking at Kit who was sitting back fully on the bed, leaning against the wall. 

It took Kit a second before he realized how he reacted. “I-… I donʻt like people touching me.”

Abby took a step back from the bed, letting Kit move back to the edge of the bed again. “Itʻs fine, Kit, but please, make this easy for the two of us.” 

“Stop saying that word," Kit said as he looked at her before continuing, "Iʻm not okay, Abby.”

Abby sighed softly, this felt like a replay of the conversation with Neil. “None of the Foxes are okay, Kit. Chances are that I have seen a lot worse than whatever you are trying to hide from me.” 

Kit scoffed a little at that, a small humorless smile playing on his lips and shook his head. “I hope that you havenʻt...” Kit leant forward a little to stand up, Abby took another small step back. “Just donʻt ask about any of them okay..? Just know that they are old, I donʻt do that anymore. You need to trust me on that...”

Kit started taking his jacket off, his hands shaking and his heart pounding. He knew that he shouldnʻt be doing this but he knew that he had to, to be able to play. Once Kit took off his jacket he did everything to avoid looking at his forearms as he took off his shirt, he had to do this quickly before he could change his mind.

Abby thought that she was ready after she saw Neil, not thinking that anyone could be worse than him. But her face went blank as she looked over the scars that crossed over Kitʻs body, Kit took a shaky breath in as he looked down at the mess of scars on him.

It all started with a long stripe that started at the left side of his neck and looped around down to the front of his throat and down to the middle of his pecks, more long white cuts crossed over his collar bones, a few burn marks from a fire poker over his torso. A few badly healed stab wounds were in random spots on his torso. The rest of his torso was covered with criss-crossed scars, half of which happened from his time in the Nest, some not healing properly and the rest coming from his time on the run. Most coming from run-ins with local lowlifes and desperate escapes. Along his abdomen were larger overlapping lines from run-ins with his father's people.

On his left shoulder were two different outlines of three quarters of a hot iron, one of them happened at the same time as Neilʻs because he was a little too jumpy during a police visit and the other came from when he refused to let Lola teach him how to use a butcher's knife.

And something that Abby didnʻt know what to think of, crescent moon scars on his hips, she prayed that it was Kit doing that to himself.

Kit took a deep breath in, tears threatening to fall as he presented his scar littered forearms to a shell-shocked Abby.

“Kit… you, I-” Abby started, seeing Kit shaking violently, tears starting to fall. 

“I donʻt have t-track ma-marks right..?” Kit sniffled out, his shaking got worse. He hated looking at the scars on his torso but the ones on his arms were the thing that made him weak. He was at such a low point in his life that he had to feel like he was in control of something. “They are old Abby, years ago… I donʻt, I wouldnʻt do it anymore, I have my brother..” 

Abby shook her head a little as she tried to focus on the rest of the physical but it was hard for the both of them. Kit was shaking uncontrollably as he just stared at his scared forearms, lines of red flashing on them, the feeling of warm blood was ghostly on his skin. His breath hitched as Abby finally finished and gave Kit the only to put his clothes back on.

Kit didnʻt move for a moment, just standing and shaking but once his brain caught up to everything he pulled his shirt on and his jacket on straight after. His body still shaking and tears still falling as he held his forearms tightly to his stomach.

“Weʻre done.” Abby said, looking at Kit, she felt like she should do something, she will have to call Betsy after this. “Kit, you know if you need to talk, you can talk to either me or Betsy.” 

Kit just shook his head, flashes on things crossing his mind as he rubbed his forearms harshly. “Iʻm. Fine.” Kit said as he wiped his face and headed for the door.

Matt, Dan and Renee were still there waiting for him, they all looked at him and knew that something was off but they didnʻt mention it. Abby followed Kit out and gave a look to Renee who nodded. “Letʻs just get going. I want to get out of here.” Kit said softly.

Matt nodded and went ahead with Dan, leaving Kit and Renee to walk behind them out to Mattʻs car. Kit could feel Reneeʻs eyes on him which made him hold his arms tighter. 

The ride back to Fox tower was quiet, Kit didnʻt talk unless one of them asked if he was okay, which he told them that he was. Matt soon parked the truck and everyone got out and headed up to their dorms, Seth was waiting for them and went up with Matt leaving Kit and the girls to walk up behind them.

“Hey, Kit. Would you want to come to dinner with us downtown?” Renee asked sweetly as they reached the girls dorm, Kit looked at her a little confused as to why she would want him to hang out with them.  
  


“I-I mean.. Sure, I guess,” Kit said with a shrug as he turned and left to head to his dorm with Seth and Matt, opening the door they found Neil sitting by the window. Kit just watched his brother, he was still shaking and fighting off thoughts but he just stormed off to their shared room. 

Seth seemed to stop complaining about something when the door slammed shut but he shrugged it off and went back to his rant. Kit on the other hand was taking his clothes out of his duffel bag, putting them into one of the draws at the end of his and Neilʻs bunk, Kit picked up his racquet and put it up on the top bunk before going back out to the living room. 

Matt was setting up his computer, Neil was ignoring him and Seth just went into the bedroom to unpack. Kit walked to the couch and sat down and waited until it was time to meet up with the girls.

ʻDowntownʻ referred to a long street of shops branching off the campus just a short ways from Fox Tower. Kit had been there on a few of his early morning/late night runs, not many stores were open and they wouldnʻt reopen until it got closer to fall. 

They all ended up at a place that was a half-bar, half-pizza place. The group sat in a L-shaped booth which was perfect for the Josten twins, Neil sat on the end mostly so he could watch and Kit sat next to him. Kit expected the same loudness and madness that he saw on his and Neilʻs first night in South Carolina, especially seeing the tension that Seth and Allison brought to the group. But he saw them set aside whatever differences they had and all managed to carry on a table-wide conversation. Even Seth and Allison were trying to get along.

Kit, much like Neil, mostly stayed out of it but every now and then he would get into a small conversation with Renee, who was sitting next to him. They were half way through dinner when Matt and Dan ducked out, Kit tilted his head a little at them a little confused before it clicked and he went back to his drink.

No one talked about the one thing that was on all of their minds, the district change. Kit looked around the restaurant, seeing that they basically had the whole place to themselves, as he finished his beer. He knew that drinking wasnʻt the best thing for him but he knew how to hold his alcohol unlike his brother, it was also one of the only ways to make his brain stop thinking about everything that had happened that day.

Kit placed his empty glass down and went back to holding his arms, Neil was watching Dan and Matt who just arrived back, Kit noticed that they were looking a little more messed up than they were before but no one mentioned it. Seth toasted Matt but Kit saw that his eyes never left Allison as he did so.

Dan and Matt led the way back to Fox tower with Seth and Allison behind them, Renee behind those two and Kit and Neil bringing up the rear. Kit had a feeling that Renee was trying to keep an eye on him, it was like she could see part of what happened earlier that day. When they all finally reached their floor, Nicky was standing there waiting for them in the hallway.

“Hey, Renee,” Nicky started. “You mind calling Andrewʻs phone?”

Kit leaned against the wall watching this and crossed his arms, Nicky looked a little worried about something.

“Did he lose it?” Renee asked, pulling hers out of her small purse.

“I did,” Nicky replied. “And, uh, the man carrying it. Heʻs not answering my calls.”

Kit snorted a little bit at this, you really couldnʻt script something like that.

“Jesus Nicky,” Matt said. “Coach told you to keep an eye on him tonight.” 

“I know what he said.” Nicky made an annoyed face at Matt. “You try it sometime.”  
  


Renee held up her hand, asking them all to be quiet. Everyone immediately stopped talking to watch her. Kit watched as she had her phone to hear ear, waiting for the ringing to die out or for someone to answer. Everyone knew when Andrew must have picked up by the way that she smiled, Kit thought for a moment about the relationship the two must have, she smiled so warmly.

“Did I wake you?” she asked, not bothering with a boring greeting. “I was hoping to talk to you tonight, but Nicky says youʻve wandered off. Oh? All right, then. Iʻll try again tomorrow. Lunch, perhaps? Okay. Good night.”

She hung up the phone and put it away. “He's at Coach's. Maybe Coach wanted to make sure he took his medicine tonight." Renee gave Nicky's shoulder an encouraging squeeze. "He's safe. Kevin's safe. Get some rest. There's nothing else we can do tonight except lock our doors and pray.”

Nicky gave her a quick ʻthanksʻ and disappeared into his room.

Everyone split into their own rooms to prep for bed. Once Kit made sure that his long sleeved shirt was good enough he climbed onto the top bunk and stretched out on the mattress. Kit took a moment to get comfortable, he had put his racquet back down into the corner of the room, he curled up as soon as the lights turned out.

Kit could hear nothing but breathing and an empty static in his mind. He stared out into the darkness that surrounded him, he didnʻt have his brother curled up behind him, so his mind started wondering. Thinking about most things leading up to this moment and when he finally passed out, all he could dream about was his father and Tetsuji waiting for him on the Foxhole Court.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I really hope that you guys are liking what I am doing with the story!


	7. Chapter 7: A night out with the Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrew has a little talk to Kit and Neil does something stupid again.
> 
> TW: Sexual harrament and drugs

Over the next three days was really a sight to be seen, Kit watched the team and wondered how they had made it to spring championships the year before. The team was divided up within their own groups, when Allison and Seth werenʻt making out wherever they felt like it, they were at each otherʻs throats. Kit couldnʻt really understand why they were bouncing back and forth like that but he decided not to think about it too much.

The entire first week of summer practices were wasted by fighting, to say that Kit was annoyed with this would be an understatement, but it felt critical because the court hierarchy fell back into place again. When Dan was holding the team with the same fiery spine that he saw on the first day that he met her. Seeing how all of the Foxes let her have the last say in everything, even Andrew followed her orders. Kit could see that Wymack made the right choice in having her as Captain.

Kevin knew more about Exy than anyone else and he still had some lingering authority from his stint as their assistant coach. Kit was the only one that could listen to what he was saying without snapping back at him like the rest of the team. Kit felt that he was going back into how things used to be with Kit understanding Kevin and listening to him fully. Dan and Matt thought that he was a miracle worker because he didnʻt fight back with what Kevin was telling him to do. Most of the fights that week were caused by Kevin, and most of these fights were between him and Seth. Kevin and Seth loathed each other, second to the hate that Seth and Nicky had for each other.

Kit mainly stayed out of the fights, but when he got put up against Seth, as backliner, he would play dirty, he would play like he was trained to with the Ravens. Which led to a lot of yelling from both parties.

Matt was the reason Seth and Kevin hadnʻt ripped each otherʻs heads off, he was the brute force that kept them all in line when Danʻs words werenʻt enough. Matt was the best player that the team had because of Kevinʻs injury and Andrew just not caring about the sport. Whatever happened last year, between Matt and Andrew, really gave Matt an understanding with the cousins, which meant that the Foxes had a strong defense line. Matt and Kevinʻs relationship was a little weird but Kit saw that they were trying and that's all that he needs from this team.

Kit could properly see why everyone liked Renee, even though Neil was still weary of her. She would give out friendly advice, encouraged her teammatesʻ efforts, and played mediator occasionally. Kit saw that no one ever argued with her, that she never got involved in anyone's fights. Kit had to admit that he kind of admired Reneeʻs and Andrewʻs friendship, even though no one else on the team approved of their friendship. 

It wasnʻt unknown that most of the team didnʻt like Seth because of the attitude and anger that he brought to the court, Kit could swear that he was on something most of the time because of his mood swings. Allison was hard to work with because of her hatred of the cousins, Kit tried his best not to let her attitude get to him but sometimes she was just a little too much.

Aaron and Nicky were people that Kit liked working and playing against, Aaron was more aggressive than Nicky when it came to playing. Kit wouldnʻt say that Nicky was bad, it was just that he liked making dramatic plays and picking fights with Allison more. Andrew was someone who had skill but didnʻt put in any effort, it hurt Kit to see him out in as little effort that he could get away with.

Neither Kit nor Neil had a spot in the team hierarchy yet. Kit could see that none of them really cared for Neil because of his inexperience. Dan tried to get Neil more included but she had to deal with the rest of her team, Allison didnʻt really care for him and Kit still had a grudge against him for leaving.

Kit really liked practicing with the team, and since he could sub in for any of them, they held a little more respect for him, especially when he played with experience that none of them expected from someone who only started playing last year.

By the time Friday rolled around, Kit was ready for the weekend. The weekend meant that he got to train on his own if Kevin wasnʻt there, it also meant that he was able to take his anger out on something other than his teammates. Kit was happy that he was able to use the court at weird times of the night, otherwise he would be feeling suffocated by the amount of time that he was spending with everyone else.

But he knew in the back of his mind that he had to go out with Andrewʻs lot. Kit and Neil were the last ones in the changing rooms on Friday, Kit was still a little mad at his brother for not staying with him but he could really be mad, he never asked him to stay. Both Kit and Neil got a lift with the team, sharing the bed of Mattʻs truck with the upper class men, thatʻs if Kit wasn't there already, and the Josten twins ran back to the dorm. None of them asked why the brothers liked doing that and they stopped waiting around after they caught on to what they were doing.

Friday was a little different, though. Kit lugged his dirty uniform into the locker room first and saw Nicky waiting for them on one of the benches with two black gift bags.

“Looks like you survived your first week,” Nicky said, quickly glancing to see if Neil was close behind. “Did you have fun, Kit?”

“Honestly, not the worst team to work with.” Kit replied with a shrug. Heading over to the laundry baskets to get rid of the dirty uniform, he went over and checked his locker to make sure that it was locked.

Neil finally came out, a little surprised to see Nicky waiting for them. Kit turned away from his locker to see Nicky standing right behind him, Kit just raised an eyebrow and raised his hand to try and get him to back off.

Nicky saw what he was going to do and just dropped one of the bags in Kitʻs hand before turning to Neil and holding his one out to him. 

“These are for you two.” Nicky said. “Andrew told me that either of you had anything appropriate to wear for where we are going. He told me your sizes to get both of you, and I picked it out. Trust me, youʻll both look amazing.”

Kit looked a little confused for a moment before he nodded in agreement, he wasnʻt allowed to buy new clothes so he was stuck with the worn out jeans and shirts. “No catches?” Kit wanted to make sure that there were no strings attached to this, he didnʻt know if this was a gift or something that would make both him and Neil in debt to the cousins.

“No catches, this is more for us then for the two of you, honestly. We canʻt be seen with either of you in public if you look like raggedy hobos. No offence.” Nicky turned to Neil, noticing that he was unusually quiet. “Neil?”

“Thank you,” Neil said, but Kit heard that there was uncertainty in his voice, he knew why, neither of them had been given gifts.

Nicky studied Neil for a second before he tweaked Neilʻs hair, he took a step back so he could talk to all of them. “Weʻll pick you both up at nine, all right? I hope you two donʻt mind squeezing in the back seat again. But I suggest napping until then. Weʻll be out all night. Weʻve got contacts to keep the party going until dawn.” Nicky grinned at the two of them before looking at their eyes. “Speaking of, ditch them tonight, both of you. Your contacts, I mean.”

Kit froze for a moment, his grip tightening on the bag. “What?”

“Shut up.” Neil said, obviously not liking that idea.

Kit watched as Nicky ook around the room to make sure that no one was around. “Look, itʻs not like theyʻre a secret. Anyone whoʻs looking can see the ring around both of your eyes, meaning you are wearing lenses. I saw ʻem day one. I just didnʻt think they were fashion lenses until Andrew told me. And seriously? Both of you picked brown? How boring can the two of you be?”

“We happen to like brown.” Kit said.

“Well Andrew doesnʻt,” Nicky said. “Take them out.” 

“No.”

“Please,” Nicky said. “No oneʻs going to see either of you but us, and we already know theyʻre a lie. Donʻt wear them.” 

Kit sighed, he didnʻt like the idea of letting Kevin see his real color eyes but he really didnʻt have a choice because of Andrew. Kit also didnʻt want to get on his bad side, because him and his brother were going to be with them over half a state away. Kit knew what side Nicky would take if things got ugly.

“Nine,” Nicky said again, earning a nod from Kit, and left. 

Both Kit and Neil waited a little bit before they headed out, jogging across campus to waste a few hours at the library, Neil on the Computers and Kit reading a few things in a few Japanese written books. They picked a small dinner on their way back to the dorm from one of the convenience stores that were open.

Kit was surprised to find the dorm empty, but then he remembered Matt talking about how him and Dan are going to see a movie, where Seth was, will remain a mystery. Kit watched as Neil headed to the bathroom to change, leaving Kit to the no lock bedroom, he quickly checked the main door lock and then headed to get changed.

Putting on the clothes was something, Kit never actually thought that he would get to wear nice clothes like these again. When he left Australia to find his brother and mother, he had to give up the luxury of always being well dressed. He had gotten use to the plain clothes, nothing that would make him or his brother stand out in a crowd, something that would make them not be recognizable to someone. No matter how many times their mother changed their identities and languages that was the only thing that stayed the same.

Kit looked down at the outfit and nodded in approval, this was something that he could get used to wearing. Black cargo pants that were a little bit tight around his hips, a pair of black platform boots, a black turtleneck which was breathable but it was also skin tight. Kit ran his hands over his body feeling the scars through the light material, he took in a deep breath as he put on the belt that Nicky got him. Tucking in the shirt to try and style it a little more.

There was one more thing that he needed to do. Take out his contacts. Kit liked his eyes, but they reminded him of his fatherʻs even though they arenʻt completely the full icy blue. Kit sighed and opened the door, hoping that Neil would be out of the bathroom and to his luck Neil was. 

Kit looked at his brother, looking at his eyes before looking down, he didnʻt want to see that at the moment. Kit saw a glimpse of Andrewʻs group in the living room.

Closing the bathroom door, Kit went over to the toilet and slowly took the contacts out and dropped them in there. After flushing the toilet he turned to the mirror to get a good look at his eyes, there was that chilling blue surrounded by a bright green. He shook his head a little before opening the door to see Andrew standing there looking at him with an expressionless face and Neil walking down the hallway to the others.

“Going sober I see?” Kit asked.

All Andrew did was take a step into the bathroom, getting dangerously close to Kit, Andrew reached out a hand going for his neck. Kit knew better than to stand down but he flinched up under the contact of Andrewʻs fingers on the back of his neck. Pulling his head down Kit tried to focus on any other part of Andrewʻs face but his eyes.

“Unexpected honesty from you too, you donʻt have the same eyes as your brother,” Andrew said, still inspecting Kit. 

“I was told that you donʻt like brown eyes,” Kit joked with a shrug. 

Andrew took his hand away from Kitʻs neck and gave him a quick once over. “Weʻre going.” 

All eyes were on them as they walked out into the living room, Nicky was looking at Kit a little shocked. “Oh, man. You clean up well too? Can I say that, right? Or is that against the rules? Just- my lord. Aaron please, make sure I don't get too drunk. I donʻt want to die.” 

Kit just rolled his eyes as he stood next to Neil, they watched as Andrew lit up a smoke and held a lighter up to Nickyʻs face, talking to him before walking out of the room. Kevin and Andrew followed while Nicky waited to give the Josten twins one last appreciative look and went out to the hall. The trio walked down in silence when Neil finished locking up, they trailed the others downstairs to the car in silence.

Kit and Neil ended up half sitting on each other while Aaron and Andrew were on opposite sides of them. Kit didnʻt know what to expect but he was happy to find that once Nicky started driving both brothers propped themselves up against their doors and went to sleep.

Kit took this time upon himself to try and fix his hair a little but, aka putting the top half up and leaving the rest down, once he accomplished that he just leaned against Neil and closed his eyes, letting his mind wonder a little bit before he eventually fell asleep.

Next thing Kit knew was pain filling his stomach, he groaned and hunched over his knees, his brain trying to figure out where he was. Suddenly there was a weight on his back, pushing him down, everything was black in that moment, he tried to remember how to breathe.

“Every exit leads to a Waffle House. Still breathing, Kit?”

Kit knew that voice, it was Nicky. “Yeah, still breathin.” Kit wheezed out as he felt the weight get off his back, Kit sat up slowly trying to steady himself.

Neil was watching Kit shake a little, suddenly Kit knew that Neil was clicking in his face. “You're annoying when you do that, Neil.” 

Kit took a few deep breaths in before looking over at Andrew. He held his hands up in front of his face, but it wasnʻt until a car passed the other way that Kit saw what he was focused on. Andrewʻs fingers were trembling.

“Nicky,” Andrew said, there was a little strain in his voice.

Kit didnʻt see Nicky glance back, but he must have seen what Andrew was looking at. Nicky swept across lanes to their exit. “Weʻre almost there.” 

“Pull over.” 

“Weʻre on an exit ramp.”

“Now.” 

Nicky didnʻt argue again. He pulled off onto the almost nonexistent shoulder, braking so hard. Horns blared as a car whipped past them. Andrew shoved his door open, leaned out of the car as far as he could, and dry-heaved into the weeds alongside the road. Both Kit and Neil were sitting close enough to him to feel the way Andrew's entire body shook with the effort. It sounded like Andrew was tearing his esophagus to shreds.

“Where are your crackers?" Nicky asked when Andrew was left gasping for breath.

"He took them earlier," Kevin said.

"All of them?" Nicky asked, horrified. "Jesus, Andrew."

"Shut up," Andrew said, and spat a couple times. He reached blindly for Kevin's headrest, found it on the third try, and pulled himself back inside the car. “Just get us there.”

And with that Nicky flawed it, only getting slowed by the night traffic once they reached the outskirts Columbia. They arrived at a restaurant named Sweetie’s, Nicky dropped them off at the front as he went around and looked for a parking spot. There were four groups ahead of them waiting for seats but Andrew detoured to the buffet grabbing some cracker packets that were at the end of the table. Kevin and Kit watched as Andrew methodically ate his way through them.

Once Andrew finished his snack Nicky joined them. A few minutes later the group of six we are finally seated at a booth in the back. Kit watched as Andrew stuffed his empty cracker packets into their hosts apron, he didn’t even bat an eye at what Andrew just did and just left them with their menus. And not far behind him was their waitress. 

Kit really wasn’t interested in what Nicky was saying to her but was more interested in how Andrew was doing. Andrew sat cradling his face in one hand the other hand was flat on the table in front of him and his shaking had gotten worse. A shudder passed through Andrew’s frame, making him clench his teeth and trying to stop it.

Kit looked away, looking anywhere but his table. He didnʻt know why Andrew was doing this to himself, maybe it was because he wanted to drink? The sound of Balls being put down on the table, the waitress put a pile of napkins in the middle of the table. As soon as she left, Andrew scattered the napkins with impatient hands trying to get at the pile of pale yellow filled packets.

“We’re in public.” Aaron said.

Andrew ignored him in favour of ripping open the bags, up and ending them into his mouth.

Kit started eating a little bit of the ice cream. He had to admit it was pretty good, but he didn’t let the food distract him from watching Andrew. Andrew collected the rest of the packets and hit them in one of his pockets, moving looked like it hurt for him seeing the tight look that he got on his face.

It took Andrew another minute before he stopped shaking enough to start eating. That powder must have been able to take the edge off his withdrawals because he was back to his ‘normal’ self by the time that he finished eating. The bill arrived Andrew just pushed it Aaron’s way, and Aaron clipped a small stack of twenties to the check. Kit had a strong idea of what was going on but so he didn’t feel the need to look back like Neil.

It was a short drive from the restaurant to their real destination of the night. Eden’s Twilight, a very popular looking two story nightclub. There was a long line waiting to get in, and the people in that line made Kit feel a little underdressed looking at their outfits. 

Nicky Pulled up to the curb by the door and let them all out. A pair of bouncers by the entrance walked over at their arrival, and Aaron greeted them with a complicated fist bump in handshake Kit understood this as them having known each other. What are the bounces dog in orange tag out of his back pocket and handed it over to Aaron, who took it to Nicky. Nicky attached it to the rearview mirror and drove away to park somewhere.

Kit watched as Andrew Saluted the bounces on his way by and lead the way into the club walking past the line entirely. Kevin followed and both Kit and Neil followed Kevin, leaving Aaron outside.

Kit took a quick look around as they passed through the second set of doors, he was impressed. The first is a dancefloor which was packed, Kit listened to the loud bass, he was going to have a headache tonight but he felt like he could enjoy it a little bit. 

Kit quickly caught up to Kevin and made sure that Neil was right behind him as they looked around for a table. I took the group a little bit of searching before they found a table, even though it was covered in glasses the stores were abandoned, so they claimed it. Aaron went off and hunted down two more chairs as soon as they were set, Andrew grabbed both Kit and Neil by the collars of their shirts and dragged them to the bar.

Kit automatically grabbed onto Andrews wrist as they made it to the bar. There were only three bartenders on staff but Andrew was willing to wait for one specific man. When the man finally made it to them, he flashed Andrew an easy smile. “Back so soon, Andrew? Who’s your newest victims?” 

“Two nobodies,” Andrew answered. “It’s the usual for us.”

The man looked at Neil, Kit noticing the quick look up and down. “And for you?”

“I don’t drink,” Neil said, making Kit roll his eyes at his brother.

“Soda, then,” The man then turned his attention to Kit, also giving him a quick look up and down. “What about you?”

Kit thought for a moment before giving a little head tilt to Andrew. “Whatever he’s having.”

The man just nodded and pushed away to get their order together. He returned with the tray of drinks, Kit watched as Andrew yielded it with an easy expertise that made him think that he might have worked here before. When the bartender slid him his glass of soda last, Andrew went back through the crowd, pushing through the drunks with his free hand. Nicky was waiting for them at the table and leaned out of the way for Andrew to put the tray down.

“Cheers!” Nicky yelled, everyone had a shot in their hands, including Kit, they all drank as one.

Kit mostly kept up with the groups fast drinking but stopped when he saw his brother watching him. Kit stopped for a moment and looked at Neil, giving him a small smile, he knew that he hadnʻt been the best to Neil lately but that was because he was trying to deal with a lot of things. Kit also saw the way that Neil looked when he drank his soda too fast, Neil had up soda when he joined the Millport Dingos. But that didn’t mean that Kit gave up his alcohol, it was the only thing that helped clear his mind when he couldn’t control it.

Kit went with Neil and Andrew to help Bring the second round of drinks, he saw how Neil was about to ask to probably change to water but the bartender had already poured him his soda.

The pale yellow powder filled packets from Sweetie’s reappeared as soon as they made it back to the table. Andrew wagged one at Neil in a taunting invitation. When Neil just looked back at Andrew, Andrew turned to Kit and held it out to him. Kit watched the pale yellow powder shaking in the little bag, something that made him think that he should take it. Kit reached out slowly and grabbed it from Andrew, staring at the packet. Kit could see Neilʻs eyes on him as Kit watched the other packets being handed out by Andrew. Everyone took one, even Kevin.

“Cracker dust?” Nicky said, ripping open the packet. “Heard of it? It tastes like sugar and salt and gives you a small rush. You sure you donʻt want in?” 

“Drugs are stupid.” Neil said, his eye not leaving his brother, who was just staring at the packet.

Kit just kept staring at the packet as the others talked, he knew that he shouldnʻt be taking this ʻcracker dust’, he needed to look after Neil even though he was drinking. But he needed something, something that could take his mind away from his thoughts, he needed something to make him feel something other than mentally numb.

“Do you really think Kevin would risk his future for a night at the club?” Hearing Nicky say that was the little push that Kit needed to rip open the top of the packet open, he needed this, he needed to put himself first for once. 

“See, Kit gets it,” Nicky said, pointing to Kit who grabbed the shot that was in front of him. “Down the hatch on three.”

Kit took a deep breath in as he gave a quick glance towards his brother, he did not look happy but this is something that Kit needed. Nicky counted them off, and Kit upended the sweet tasting powder into his mouth and immediately chased it with the shot. Kit didn’t hear any of the commotion going on with his brother as he was just staring into Kevin’s eyes, for a short moment he was back at the nest back four years ago before he left for the last time.

For a split second he thought that he saw a flash of recognition in Kevinʻs eyes but it was probably the powder starting to kick in.

Next thing that Kit knew was Neil’s chair being hit to the ground with him in it, Kit quickly looked at Andrew, who seemed to be waiting for his reaction. “What the fuck did you give my brother?”

“A little something, nothing different then what you took,” Andrew said, getting closer to Kit as Nicky and Aaron picked up his brother from the floor. Andrew grabbed Kit’s cheeks to stop him from looking at Neil and making sure that Kit was looking at him. “It will kick in in a minute, don’t worry about Neil. Go and have some fun.” 

By the time Kit pulled away, his head started pounding to the music, his head spun a little bit. “Idiot,” Kit spoke, winching a little as his head got a little worse.

Kit gave one last look back at Kevin and Andrew, Kevin was staring at him, in shock. Kevin looked like he had noticed something that he hadnʻt until then. While Andrew just watched Kit closely. Kit just turned away from them and headed to the stairs that lead down to the dance floor, he stumbled down a few steps but managed to reach the dance floor.

He had no clue on where to start looking for Neil, the bright lights seemed to get brighter as he pushed through the bodies around him. This was something that he wasnʻt prepared for, but he was glad that his mind felt numb, no old thoughts were arising, nothing was on his mind.

He had been looking through the crowd for about five minutes, before he felt someone grab his arm and pull him off to the side. Kit immediately ripped his arm away, stumbling slightly backwards. It was some random guy who happened to look like a prostitute with a see thru mesh shirt and a leather jacket.

“Fuck off.” Kit said, this head getting lighter and the lights getting brighter.

“I donʻt think so sweetcheeks,” The man said, trying to grab Kit again, only to be pushed away. “Fisty and you have a good ass, Iʻm going to have fun with you.” 

Kit looked around, trying to see if Nicky or Aaron were around but there was no one. “I swear if you put another hand on me, I will break it,” Kit threatened as he backed against a black wall, he knew that he could fight his way out but with the cracker dust that he had just taken it might have made it a bit harder.

A sudden pull away from the man and into someone else's grasp is just what he needed. “Kit, is he bothering you?” Kit knew that voice, it was Nicky. 

The moment that he took his eyes off the man that was annoying him to look up at Nicky, he felt his lips on his. Kit immediately pushed away, stumbling back. “What the fuck Nicky!” Kit screamed over the somehow louder music, Nicky just shrugged and turned away back to the party seeing that the guy who had been harassing Kit left as soon as he saw them kiss.

Kit took a few steps back and leaned against the wall, trying to take a few deep breaths in. A hand came up and grabbed Kitʻs chin, a quick reflex made him stumble backwards only to find that it was Andrew. 

“I swear on my life, I will kill the next person who lays a hand on me,” Kit said, staring right at Andrew, the lights fading in and out like his headache.

“I didnʻt like that you needed to kill someone, you could just pay them to do it, you and your brother both have enough cash to hire a proper hit man. I have to wonder how two nobodies like you end up with so much cash.”

“We found it.”

“Sure,” Andrew drawed out crossing his arms. “Is that why you dress like you are homeless? I can tell that you like the finer things though.” Andrew gestured to what Kit was wearing before he started talking again. “The team is split you know. Most of them think that you are trailer trash like Dan. Renee knows better, and so do I. I think and that brother of yours is something a little more like us.” Andrew took a step forward, looking Kit in the eyes but not getting too close. “Runaway.” 

Kit scoffed a little shaking his head which in turn only made it pound a little harder, the lights getting brighter. “You really need to learn to mind your own business Andrew.”

“Didnʻt you know? Tonight is Mind Kit and Neilʻs Business Night.” Andrew said like it was meant to be an obvious thing. “Give me something real or I wonʻt let you stay.” 

Suddenly, everything that Kit had risked coming here felt like it was for nothing if he did think that Andrew could stop him from being on the team. “You really should leave me and my brother alone Andrew, this isnʻt your team, you donʻt make the call if Neil and I stay or not.”

“Donʻt make me prove you wrong Kit, I can have a background check done on you and your brother,” Andrew smiled. “It would be as easy as making one phone call in the morning, to tell him about two problem children. Do you think that theyʻll find anything interesting?”

Kit stood there in disbelief, he couldnʻt call Andrewʻs bluff because he might be telling the truth. Just as Kit was about to talk Aaron walked up to them, looking at Kit before turning to Andrew.

“Looks like our night has been cut short,” Aaron said. “Neil paid a busboy to knock him out.”

“Fucking idiot,” Kit said shaking his head. “I wanted to drink more before he goes and does something stupid.” 

The group all met up and put Kit in charge of carrying Neil, even though Kit couldnʻt stand properly because of the drugs he still powered through. Back at the house, Kit just dumped Neil onto the nearest bed, his headache making him light headed. So he went to find the nearest couch, as soon as he got close enough to it he passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> I hope that you like this chapter! If you did feel free to comment and if you didnʻt, still comment on things that I can change and make better about my story!


	8. Chapter 8: Half truths and stupid brothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrew and Kit have a little talk, Neil leaves without telling his brother. Kitʻs upset with Neil.
> 
> Kit and Renee have a small talk.

Kit woke up in the morning to a hand shaking his shoulder, he quickly swung at the person, hitting them somewhere. Not knowing who it was, his head started pounding as soon as he moved. His breathing was fast and rigid, it took him a moment to open his eyes, the light feeling almost blinding to him but someone was soon standing in the way. Andrew.

“Feisty in the morning, too, I see,” Andrew spoke as Aaron was holding his arm tightly.

“Fuck off, Andrew,” Kit gasped out, his throat was dry and him still trying to breath properly wasnʻt helping, Aaron was next to the couch holding a glass of water. 

Kit sat up slowly, a pain forming in his neck. “Youʻll want to drink this,”

Kit grabbed the glass from Aaron and started drinking, it tasted good. Kit looked up at Andrew to see him staring at his shirt, Kit looked down to see that it had become untucked. 

“You, go shower, you, me and Kevin are going to get brunch.” Andrew said, not taking his eyes away from the bit of skin that could be seen. On his hip was crescent moon scars which seemed to have peaked Andrewʻs interest. “Hurry up, I donʻt like being kept waiting.”

Kit nodded, getting up quickly and heading off to try and find the bathroom on the first floor, there was a set of clean clothes on the toilet seat. So as quick as Kit could with a headache, he cleaned himself and got dressed noticing that the shirt was also long sleeved. Kit took out his wallet that somehow didnʻt get lost in the couch and pulled out a pair of contacts. Once they were in he went out to see Andrew and Kevin waiting for him so they could leave, Andrew was kind enough to drive the short distance even though Kit thought that he shouldnʻt be driving when heʻs on his medication. But Andrew was still sober. 

They somehow safely reached the store, Kevin went off to go and get things that they would need for brunch, while Andrew pulled Kit down to the back of one of the aisles.

“I thought I told you not to touch me,” Kit said, yanking his arm away from Andrew as he looked at the dead end aisle that they were in.

“I donʻt like the way that you look at Kevin,” Andrew started. “I donʻt trust the way that you look at Kevin,” Andrew paused for a moment getting closer to Kit. “Edgar Allan is in our district and you are on my team. You, a know-nothing from Arizona who somehow managed to catch Kevin's eye. You, a lie from head to foot, with a bag full of money and a brother with a hard-on for everything Kevin, Riko and Nicholas. Do you understand?" 

Kit stood there for a moment, his brain trying to catch up with the words, he was a little shocked at what Andrew was accusing him of. “Are you saying that I am working for those Japanese assholes?” Kit stood there for a moment before laughing. “Fuck no, I would rather die than work for them.”

“Prove it to me then.”

“How the hell do I prove that to you that Iʻm not working for them?” 

“How about I go and find your parents and start asking them questions.”

“Good luck with that,” Kit spoke, switching to German, he didnʻt know where Kevin was and he didnʻt want him to risk hearing him. “Their dead.”

Andrew stood there for a moment, staring at Kit before he answered him in German. “That was unexpected, havenʻt I told you that I hate surprises?”

“I thought that you would like one more,” Kit answered. “But again, both are dead, no bringing them back.”

“Did you or your brother kill them? I doubt that Neil would have. So, did you?” 

Kit stood there for a moment, Andrew asked so casually. Kit wanted to tell the truth, he wished that he killed his mother, she was abusing both of them for so long but she was also the reason that they were still alive. And his father, what he would do to get his hands on a gun to kill him. “Sadly, no. Neither Neil or I killed our parents.” Kit took a deep breath in, trying to come up with something on the spot before nodding a little bit. “But Rikoʻs family did.” 

Upon hearing this Andrew raised an eyebrow, as if to tell him to carry on in explaining. “Our father, he worked with a group that worked with the Moriyamas, not anything big but he knew a lot of names and how everything worked. He ended up doing business out of Edger Allan.”

Kit took another breath in deeply, he would have to get to Neil and find him before Andrew got to him and asked questions. “That's how Neil and I met Kevin and Riko. We didnʻt know what was going on but we were happy to talk to people our age, we thought that we were going to be friends with them. But then our father thought that it would be a good idea to skim money from payments, which ended up getting him and our mother killed. Neil and I took the money and ran. Weʻve been running ever since then.” 

Kit felt his body start to shake, last time he told this much truth he was written off like he was an idiot. He felt a smile grow across his face as he thought about that time, he shook his head and looked at Andrew. “Iʻm lucky that Kevin didnʻt recognize me or Neil,” Kit knew what he looked like, he looked like Andrew did when he was hopped up on drugs. “I donʻt think that Kevin remembers meeting Neil or I, so that's something good. Kevin is the only thing that helps us remember that we once had a normal life. But I canʻt risk Kevin or Riko remembering us, if they do our fatherʻs boss will hunt us down.” 

Kit closed his eyes for a moment, he didnʻt feel right telling the truth even though it was a half truth. He didnʻt want to face the facts of what would happen to him and Neil if they got found out.

“Then why come here?” Andrew asked, stepping closer to Kit leaving little space between them.

“I had nothing else,” Kit admitted, he was really letting himself feel so weak. “I had nowhere else to go, Neil and I had nowhere else to go. We are both tired of running, we didnʻt think that Edgar Allan would move into this district so we thought that we could take the risk.” Kit paused for a moment, trying to let his brain catch up to the words that were coming out of his mouth. “Both Neil and I are, and will always be- Nothing. We just wanted to feel like something.”

Andrew looked at Kit, making eye contact with him, for a moment Kit thought that Andrew saw through his half truths. “You both wonʻt be able to keep that up for long,” Andrew finally spoke before switching to English. “Letʻs go, I donʻt want to hear from the others that we took too long.” 

“We never talk about this,” Kit said in German before following Andrew to where Kevin was waiting for the two of them.

The ride back was silent, there was less tension between Kit and Andrew. Kit felt like some weight was taken off his shoulders, even though he never told the full truth, a half truth was as good as it was going to get.

When they entered the house they found Aaron and Nicky talking in the kitchen, Kit looked around for his brother while Kevin and Andrew went over to the others. Kit heard the shower running, he glanced at the kitchen before going to the bathroom and knocking on the door.

“Neil, itʻs me Kit. Iʻm going to come in okay?” Kit spoke softly as he slowly opened the door, it wasnʻt locked. Alarm bells went off in his head, he looked in there to find the shower empty, an open window and a pile of clothes on the floor. Kit sighed shaking his head, Neil must have run off. 

Turning off the shower, Kit headed out of the bathroom. “Whereʻs Neil?” Kit questioned Nicky and Aaron who just shrugged.

“The shower? I didnʻt hear him come out,” Nicky said, looking at Kit who just shaked his head. 

“How the hell did you two mange to lose my brother?” Kit said, he knew somewhere deep down that Neil was heading back to South Carolina but he really couldnʻt believe that he just up and left without him. “Knowing him heʻs probably going back down to South Carolina.” Kit said sighing and leaning onto the wall, he really hated that his brother did this to him.

Nicky looked at Kit in shock, Aaron looked like he didnʻt care, Kevin was just confused and Andrew was smiling. “Look, the little rabbit ran away again, leaving you here with us.” 

Kit just sighed and nodded. Next thing he knew, all five of them were packed in the car and on their way back to PSU, Nicky tried getting Kit to talk on how he knew that Neil would be heading back to South Carolina but all Kit said was. “I know how my brother works.”

Andrew was asleep next to Kit and Aaron was on the other side, it felt good for once to not be squished in the back of the car but it meant that Neil was somewhere out there. Even though Kit was annoyed at his brother he knew that something might happen to Neil in his kitchkicking. Kit was bouncing his leg the whole time, he couldnʻt calm his mind down, oh how he wished he had something to take his mind away from everything.

Kit spent the whole ride back staring out the window, once Nicky pulled into the parking lot of Fox tower everyone got out. Heading up to their dorm room, when Kit entered his dorm all of the upperclassmen looked at him. 

“Hey, Kit, are you okay? They didnʻt do anything right?” Matt asked, putting his cards down.

Kit just stood by the door and waited a minute, “Iʻm fine, they didnʻt do anything,” Kit stood for a moment before opening the door again.

“Hey, Kit. Whereʻs Neil?” Dan asked, finally noticing that Neil hadnʻt entered yet.

“Iʻm not the one you should be asking that question,” Kit said, already halfway out the door before he turned and looked back at everyone. “Heʻs the one that left me with them, if Andrew comes looking for something of ours donʻt let him.” 

Kit slammed the door shut behind him and headed down the stairs, walking over to Wymackʻs, he knew that Neil wouldnʻt head back to the tower straight away. The walk to Wymackʻs was long, it gave Kitʻs mind more time to wonder which was never a good thing.

Reaching Wymackʻs apartment, Kit knocked on the door and waited for Wymack to answer. “What the hell do you want Josten?” Wymack said, then he did a quick once over of him and nodded. “I see you finally got new clothes, is that why you are here? To show me your new clothes? Congratulations.”

“No Coach, Iʻm here to wait for Neil,” Kit said, looking up at Wymack, wrapping his arms around his waist before he spoke again. “That asshole left me with them in Columbia, I know that he would come here first, not wanting to deal with the others so, Iʻm going to wait here for him.” 

Wymack was a little surprised hearing that Neil left Kit with the monsters in Columbia, but he took a step back letting Kit in, he tried questioning Kit but all Kit did was sit on his couch and waited for Neil. Wymack soon gave up on trying to get anymore information out of him and went back to getting more paperwork done.

Kit stayed on the couch for a few hours, his leg cramping from the amount it was bouncing. But after what felt like forever there was a knock at the door, Kit was automatically at his feet, once he reached the door he ripped it open and there was Neil. Soaking wet, red face. 

Kit grabbed his brotherʻs arm and yanked him in, slamming the door shut. Wymack heard the knock but stayed in the hallway to watch what was about to happen. 

“Neil, I swear on my fucking life,” Kit started, still not letting go of his brotherʻs arm, before switching to German. “I fucking swear, if you do that again Iʻm going to have your fucking head on a spike. You left me with them! You left without so much as a fucking note! What if something fucking happend to you!?” Kit yelled, his body starting to shake before he let go of Neilʻs arm and taking a step back.

Wymack stepped forward to get a proper look at Neil, who was drenched in sweat. “Jesus kid, did you run here?” 

"Walked," Neil said, and Wymack stared at him. Kit sighed at his brotherʻs stupidity in not understanding sarcasm. Kit watched as Neil traced his path in the air with a finger. "I hitchhiked to Spartanburg, then to Northlake, and I walked here from there. I know it's kind of sudden, but can I stay here for a little while?" 

“Are you stupid or just insane? Do you have any idea what could have happened to you between there and here? What the hell were you thinking?”

Kit stood there for a moment, letting Wymack have a go at his brother but he still subconsciously took a step away from their Coach.

“I was thinking that I wasnʻt going to ride back here with them,” Neil said.

“But you have the nerve to leave me to ride back with them,” Kit accused, he crossed his arms looking at his brother. “You really just up and left without me,” Kit switched to German again, “I do a lot of things Neil but I have never up and left you.” 

“Well you werenʻt there Kit, you knew that I was coming here that should have been good enough.” Neil shot back in German.

Wymack couldnʻt understand what Kit was saying but he could hear the hurt and anger in his voice. “Neil, you know you could have called me, or Abby or any of the upperclassmen. All you had to say was you didn't want to stay with Andrew. Any of us would have come and gotten you."

Kit just shook his head as Wymack pointed to the kitchen. “You go and stretch out and have some water.” 

Once Neil and Kit were alone, Kit started talking again in German. “Okay, Neil, listen to me okay? Andrew knows that I can speak German, I also had to do some wonderful on the spot lying. He asked about our parents, I said that they were dead, killed by Rikoʻs family. Now letʻs get our story straight.” 

“Our dad worked for someone who worked with them, he did some work out of Edger Allan and that's how we met Kevin and Riko. Dad skimmed payments from them cause he was getting cocky, he was killed by the Moriyamas along with our mother. We both took the money and ran.”

Kit took a deep breath looking at Neil, trying to see if he followed along. “Thatʻs all I told him, the half truth, and if he asks you questions you go into more detail of tha okay?” 

Neil was in a little bit of shock, he spent three hours of walking trying to think of the perfect half truth to tell Andrew, when Kit said exactly what he was planning to say.

“You have five seconds to get your retarded psycho ass to my apartment! You even think about telling me no and I swear to god Iʻll throw Kevinʻs contract down a garbage disposal.”

Kit smiled a little hearing that, even though he hates hearing Wymack yelling, he liked hearing him yell at other people. Wymack came back into the kitchen holding a pile of towels and clothes for Neil.

“Go wash up. Youʻre a sopping mess, now get out of my sight before I wring your neck.” Wymack said, handing the pile to Neil to get showered and changed, Neil took the clothes and went to the bathroom. “You alright Kit?”

“Iʻm fine,” Kit replied, moving back out into the living room, waiting for Andrew to arrive.

When Andrew arrived, Kit knew that he was still sober by the look on his face. Kit just stayed sitting, listening to Wymack have a go at Andrew. He immediately started thinking about what had happened over the last twenty-four hours, he felt gross and disgusting, he really wished that he punched Nicky and that random guy.

Andrew looked at Kit, he had more questions for him but decided against it more in favor of talking to Neil who just entered the room. Kit watched intently as Neil spun a little deeper into their half truth that Kit started, Kit had to admit Neil was good for one thing, lying through his teeth.

Hearing someone else say the half truth was a little more hurtful, like the words now meant a little more because they had become real. They were something that, even though half true, it was something that he didnʻt really want to accept.

He wanted to stay here, he wanted to have a life like he used to, he wanted to not be afraid. Kit knew that everything was far fetched, he was stepping onto a court with Kevin Day, at some point he would be found out. Now that the Ravens were in their district both Kit and Neil had to leave before their match up, Kit didnʻt want to leave before that, he wanted to face Riko on the court. He wanted to be his backliner, he wanted to give Riko hell for everything that he did to him. But he couldnʻt, he had to leave.

“Weʻre leaving,” Andrew said, the switch to English made Kit stand up finally.

“Where are we going?” Neil asked.

“Back to the dorm,” Andrew said. “Thanks to Kit walking out and you not being with him, your teammates have been annoying us ever since, demanding we return to Columbia and scour the street in search of you.”

“He can stay here if he wants,” Wymack said. “I can call Dan to let her know heʻs safe.”

Andrew didnʻt look at Wymack but kept his eyes on both Neil and Kit. “Neil wants to come with me.”

Kit sighed a little, a few days ago those words from Andrew might have been a threat or an order, but today Kit knew that it was the truth. Both Neil and Kit chose the Foxes. They both chose to trust Andrew, whatever that meant and whatever consequences that would bring down the road.

“Thanks for the shower,” Neil said to Wymack. “Iʻll wash your clothes and bring them back on Monday.”

Kit started moving to the door, not really wanting to be there anymore, he needed to take his anger out on something. 

“Going now,” Andrew said, following Kit out of the apartment before leading them both to his car.

The ride was awkward, Kit didnʻt say a word to Neil, Neil knew that his brother was annoyed or mad at him for leaving him with Andrewʻs lot but he didnʻt know that there was another reason. Wymack must have called ahead of time, telling them that Neil and Kit were on their way back, because when they got back to the dorm all of the Foxes were in the hallways waiting for them. Kevin, Aaron and Nicky were leaning against the wall near their suit door. While the upperclassmen stood in a small clump in the middle of the hallway outside of the girlʻs room. Kit saw Neil try to get out of the questions but as soon as he got close enough to Dan she started patting him down, making sure there were no injuries.

“Are you okay?” Dan asked.

“Iʻm fine.” Neil replied.

“Andrew?” Kevin asked, for a moment Kit forgot that he was there. 

Andrew paused in his doorway long enough to look at Kevin. “Iʻm washing my hands of this. They are your problem now.”

Kit watched as Andrew disappeared into his room, Nicky and Aaron shared a look before following Andrew in. Kevin was the last one to go in, he sent a searching look at Neil before looking at Kit, he was looking for what he saw last night, something that connected him to his past. But he found nothing that he saw last night, it might have been the drugs. Kit maintained eye contact with him as he went into the room, closing the door behind him.

Dan was still fuming, Matt looked like he was geared up for a fight while Seth and Allison went back into their room, annoyed that it didnʻt end in a fight. Reneeʻs gaze was searching, Kit locked eyes with her for a second before looking away. Renee was good at reading people, she saw the hurt and anger in Kitʻs eyes.

“Coach said you hitchhiked your way back,” Dan said. “Iʻd yell at you, but Coach said he handled that already, along with Kit going off at you for leaving.”

“Lesson learned,” Neil said, glancing at his brother who held a flat stare at him. “Next time Iʻll call for a ride.”

“There wonʻt be a next time.” Dan gave a heavy sigh and looked at the two brothers. “Come on.”

They went back into the boys dorm, there were six piles of cards face down in the living room from an interrupted game and were surrounded by a graveyard of crumpled beer cans. Allison and Seth were rummaging through the fridge when Kit passed. Kit followed Renee into the living room, letting Dan and Matt follow Neil to the bedroom.

“Are you alright, Kit?” Renee asked as she picked up her cards.

“Just peachy,” Kit replied as he tugged on his hair tightly, he needed to go and train. “My brother up and left me alone with them, so that's a bonus.”

“I know that Andrew can be intense, but he does those things because he cares about Kevin,” Reneeʻs voice was soft, Kit knew that Andrew cared about Kevin in his own twisted way.

“Itʻs not that, Andrew didnʻt do anything bad. I understand why he was doing it, I would do the same for Neil if I have too,” Kit explained, glancing back over his shoulder to see if Seth and Allison had finished to his luck they hadnʻt. “It's cause of Neil and Nicky that Iʻm pissed off, Neil just up and left me and Nicky… he-” Kit cut himself off shaking his head, he wasnʻt going to bring it up.

Renee watched Kit closely, noticing how fidgety he had become, his hand tapping his leg while his other had let go of his hair and moved to the back of his neck. “Hey, if you want, you can join us. Thatʻs only if you want to of course,” Renee offered as the others started to come back. “If not, just know that I am here if you want to talk, we can talk over lunch if you would like.”

“No, thanks for offering Renee, Iʻm actually going out,” Kit said, he had the keys to the court on him, he asked Wymack for his own set when he started going at odd hours of the night so he didnʻt have to wake Neil up. “I might take you up on lunch sometime.” 

Kit was the first to walk out, starting to head down the stairwell when the other upperclassmen left to change dorms. Once he reached the inner court, all suited up he started training. Until he was numb, until he couldnʻt feel his limbs, he felt like he was going to pass out but a voice in his head told him to keep going. He had to keep going, he knew that if he didnʻt keep going until he was perfect he would get hurt, he had to get the feeling of hope away. 

Hope was a dangerous, disquieting thing, he remembered the last time he felt it. It didnʻt end well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Evening everyone! Or morning! Or afternoon!
> 
> I hope you are enjoying the story!


	9. Chapter 9: Late night training and Fights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kevin finally gets to take the Josten twins to his night training.
> 
> Kit and Seth have a bit of an argument.
> 
> Renee and Kit have a small chat afterwards

Kit hasnʻt spoken to Neil for a few days, everyone was a little worried about the brothers but everything was kind of put back together when they had training on Monday. Kit kept things short and somewhat civil between him and Neil, Kit also kept it civil between him and Andrewʻs lot. Kevin wasnʻt making any remarks towards either of the brothers and went in favor of giving the two of them a heavy and unwavering stare that was a lot more significant then anything that he could have said. 

Kit was in the lounge room that night, he was reading a book, Matt was still up on his computer when a loud knock came from the door. Kit put his book down and got up, he was dressed in his normal work out clothes, he was planning on going to the gym later and then to do some training but it looked like he might be going to the gym early. Upon opening the door Matt was by his side, there was Kevin, standing there.

Matt pushed Kit back and slammed the door shut but it was stopped by Kevin. “Kevin, I swear to God-” 

Next thing Kit knew Seth was out of bed and helped push the door closed fully. “Well that was interesting.” Kit mumbled going back to his book, he wondered why the hell Kevin would come here but his mind was drawing up a blank.

After thirty minutes Kit went out for his normal jog and then headed to the court gym, he saw Andrewʻs car there, meaning that he and Kevin had to be here. Kit knew that Kevin did night training. Then it hit him, Kevin was looking for him and Neil, most likely going to train them. They both had given Kevin their games and he wanted to make sure that they would be worthy.

Tuesday was just a repeat of Monday: Kevin glaring at Kit and Neil and the cousins were giving them the cold shoulder. Kevin caught up with Kit at the end of practice. Kit had trained hard, he could feel his limbs going numb when Kevin stopped him, they were the last two on the court as everyone else had gone off to shower.

“Next time I come for you and your brother, you both will follow me,” Kevin said.

Kit stood there for a moment, raising his eyebrow at kevin. “You know I do my own night training,” Kit looked at where the other Foxes had gone before sighing. “If Neil agrees, Iʻll go. But how come all of a sudden you are willing to work with us?”

“Andrew isnʻt going to interfere anymore,” Kit just nodded at Kevinʻs explanation before heading off to the showers, he heard Kevin have the same talk to Neil after he cut off the shower. Looks like Kit was going tonight.

At ten oʻclock, a knock came on the dorm room door again. Kit was watching a movie with Neil, Matt and Seth, Kit made sure that he was the first one up with Neil following close behind. Kit wasnʻt surprised when he saw Kevin standing there, Seth on the other hand started swearing viciously at the sight of Kevin. The noise from the movie was cut short, Matt must have paused it, and the couch creaked at the sound of the others getting up. 

“What part of ʻYouʻre not welcome hereʻ do you not understand?” Matt demanded.

“Letʻs go.” Kevin said, getting impatient at the two brothers.

Kit looked over his shoulder to see both Matt and Seth coming towards them, he held up his hand to get them to stop, he was lucky that Matt was the one in front, otherwise Seth might have just kept going to try and get his hands on Kevin. 

“Weʻll be back later.” Kit said looking at them before turning to Kevin.

“Are both of you stupid?” Seth asked.

“Yeah,” Neil said. “Finish the movie without us.” 

Kit heard Seth huff and strom away, as they walked down the hall he felt Matt staring at them but he didnʻt want to look back. They followed Kevin downstairs to the back parking lot. There had been a lot more cars, meaning that there was another team moving into Foxtower. But Kit hadnʻt seen any new faces around the dorms so that must mean that they were on a different level, Kit rolled his eyes at the thought of meeting them.

Andrew was waiting in the car for them. Kit wasnʻt surprised because of the amount of time that he saw Andrewʻs car leaving the court or sitting by the entrance when he went to use the court gym. Kit knew that especially now, with Edgar Allan in their district Kevin wasnʻt going anywhere alone, no matter the time of day.

Kit got in behind Kevin and looked at Andrew, he had his head resting on his folded arms. His eyes were closed and he didnʻt flinch when Kevin opened the passenger door. Kevin leaned over and looked at him. 

“I can drive, you know,” Kevin said.

“The day I let you drive my car is the day that I die,” Andrew said. “Are you getting in or are we going back to bed?” 

Kit listened to Kevin sigh as he got in, he watched as his brother got in the back as well, sitting next to him in the middle of the car. Andrew started up the car and pulled out driving them all to the stadium. Kevin led them in, using his keys to let him in. Andrew waited in the foyer for the trio to get changed, watching them closely as they grabbed their gear and their racquets, and followed them to the inner ring. When he saw Kevin, Neil and Kit going for the court door, he went up into the stands to watch and wait for them.

Kit had to admit, he was excited for this, he was excited to do drills with Kevin again. Kit was the first to put his gear and green and gold racquet aside to do warm ups. Kevin got them moving right away. They all ran a few laps along the inside of the court walls, did suidice runs with the court intervals and stretched out at half court. When Kevin was satisfied, he started working through drills. Starting with a simple game of catch before moving to more complicated exercises. Kit knew most of them, he remembered them from his time at the Nest, only this time there was no Riko to yell at him. Kit picked up on Kevinʻs impatience with his brother not knowing or ʻpicking up things quick like Kitʻ. 

The last drill that Kevin had them do was his favorite, as soon as Kevin had gotten the cones from the locker room Kit knew what they were going to do. Kevin set them up in a line of six and started to explain the aim of it all to Neil and Kit, Kit honestly wasnʻt paying attention because he was itching to start smacking the balls against the wall. Kit is predominantly left handed, meaning that he still has so much training to do with his right, he can still remember the days that Riko would be yelling at Kit when he was using his weaker hand. He remembers the threats, unbroken promises and followed through promises like it happened yesterday. Kit could see that Neil didnʻt get why they were doing this, he knew what his brother was thinking.

Kit managed to get four with his weaker hand on his first go, he could feel the phantom pain in his fingers, he needed to go again, he needed to be perfect. Neil managed to get a grand total of one cone. Kevin got three out of his six, Kit was honestly proud of Kevin, he wasnʻt being trained to use both hands as a kid.

“You have too much free time if youʻre coming up with drills like this,” Neil said after he flunked the second round.

“This is a Raven drill,” Kevin said, Kit nodded as he set up his cones again for his third go. “No one is allowed game time until he or she can knock every cone over in whichever order the master calls. Freshmen spend weeks to months trying to earn a spot on our line."

"The master?"

"Coach Moriyama," Kevin said after a pause. 

Kit held his breath in a little, he remembered training with Riko and Jean for hours on end to try and get this done perfectly with both hands. No matter how hard he tried he would always fall short with his right hand, always one or two short, he could never be perfect like he needed to be.

Kit took a deep breath in shaking his head, he looked down and for a moment he saw himself wearing the Raven uniform but before he could react it was back to the orange and white he had grown accustomed too. 

“Call them for me. Donʻt stop.”

Kit looked at Kevin and saw that he was holding his racquet in his left hand, he knew what he was going to do. He wanted to show Neil what he could be if he put in enough effort. Kit smiled watching as Kevin hit each cone called out for him, Kit watched as Kevin sent the last cone rolling away several feet.

This was something that Kit was brought up to live for, the perfection of the sport, it was something that he had to achieve. But it was harder for him to achieve it than Kevin or Riko, he had to be perfect with both of his hands and in each position, it was hard, growing up he spent most nights up and training until he was found to be good enough to take a break. Kit knew deep down that he still held himself to those impossibly high standards that he was told to put himself under, and playing with Kevin was only going to make him do anything to achieve his near perfection.

“This is the first of eight Raven precision drills. When you master this one, we will move on. We'll meet every weeknight save Friday until you can do all of them in your sleep." 

Kit shivered, he knew how difficult the drills could get and he knew that it would take Neil a long time to even get through this one. Kit knew that he could do all of these drills almost perfectly with his right hand and perfectly with his left, if Neil was going to be taking too long to get these drills done right he would just sit out the training with Andrew.

"But we've lost a month of practice already," Neil said. "Why couldn't we have started this in May?"

"Because you and your brother set Andrew off unnecessarily," Kevin said, annoyed. "He said I couldn't be alone with any you and he wouldn't let me bring you here."

"And you always do what Andrew says?" Neil asked.

"He is the only reason I can stay here, so yes," Kevin said. "Now shut up and practice. We're weeks behind where you should be at this point." 

Kevin made them work on this drill for about half an hour more, Kit wasnʻt too happy when Kevin made them stop because he really needed to work more on his right hand. Then Kevin made them work on their foot work, he mainly had to pick things up with Neil and a few things here and there for Kit. Kevin finally called it quits at twelve-thirty. Kit didnʻt want to stop but he thought that maybe for tonight he could try and get an early night's rest.

Kit followed Neil into the shower room as Kevin went to find Andrew.

“So thatʻs how you trained?” Neil asked, the two of them separated by the stalls.

This was the first time off the court that either of them had said a word to each other since Saturday. “Yeah, it was kind of like that,” Kit started as he started cleaning himself, this was good, talking meant that his mind would be off what his hands were feeling. “Normally there was more yelling and threats, longer training but yeah, it was close to that.” 

Kit shut his mouth as Kevin joined them. Kit dried off and got dressed in the shower stall, it was hard to put tracksuit pants on when it was that sticky, not bothering to put a shirt on Kit just zipped up his jacket as he followed his brother out and dropped off their uniforms. They waited for Kevin, and then they both followed Kevin to the lounge to collect Andrew. On the drive back, Kitʻs mind was going through old memories, he remembered the first time he did that drill and then he remembered every time that he failed. His hand started tapping on his leg as they filed out of the car and up the stairs to the third floor.

Kit opened the door to the dorm first, walking in silent footsteps. Kit saw that Matt was still sitting at his desk, he looked like he was about to pass out onto the table but he seemed to perk up when he heard the door close behind Neil. From the light coming off from the monitor Kit could see the worry etched into his face.

“You both good?”

Kit nodded, fixing up his jacket. Kit didnʻt know why Matt would stay up for them, he felt a ping of guilt. “Yeah, he was teaching us Raven drills,” Kit said with a smile, Neil nodded to help confirm.

“You are both going to hate getting up in the morning,” Matt said, shutting his computer down.

“I think Iʻll be good,” Kit said with a smile, he knew that he would be fine in the morning. His limbs would be a little sore in the morning but that would be okay because he would be getting up to play Exy. Kit followed Matt into the bedroom, and climbed up onto his bed, he wasnʻt bothered to get changed like Neil was.

Kit spent most of the night thinking, he didnʻt want to sleep in this heat. After a while of debating, Kit unzipped his jacket and laid on his stomach to sleep. The next morning Kit awoke to the alarm going off, it took him a minute to remember how to breath before sitting up. Zipping up his jacket straight away seeing that no one was looking at him, he got off the bed, getting weird looks from the others. 

Maybe, Kit and Neil training with Kevin last night was what he needed to get back to his old self, because Kevinʻs angry comments making a comeback in that morning's training. Kit seemed to be the only one okay with it. Everyone harkened more to the angry disappointment that he started the summer with, though, and less to the hostile insults that Kevin resorted to when they all found out about the district change. Kit can appreciate the change in Kevinʻs attitude.

The cousins still hadnʻt said a word to either of the Josten twins, but Kit could feel Nicky watching him and Kevin whenever they interacted. It seemed that Nicky didnʻt miss how the ice was thawing between the three of them. Kit was waiting for Nicky to bring it up in a conversation, anytime Kit looked at him, he would look away, finding anything else more interesting. Kit wasnʻt going to be the first to strike up a conversation after what he did in Columbia, Kit knew that there was no way in hell that he would ever forgive him.

By the time it got to Wednesday afternoon, after Nicky had dropped Andrew off at his weekly sessions with Besty. Nicky dropped him off at the medical center while the Foxes were on their lunch break and made it back just in time to change out for afternoon drills. The men were in the changing room, making sure that all of their straps were tightened properly and tugging on their uniforms again, when Nicky broke.

When Nicky started talking, it was in German and it wasnʻt to either Kit or Neil. 

“You think theyʻre ever going to forgive us?” Nicky asked.

“Does it matter?” Aaron said. “You didnʻt do anything to Kit and neither of them are our problem.” 

Kit stopped strapping his neck guard on and stared at the cousins, having the two of them speaking German in front of them must have meant that Andrew didnʻt tell them that he and Neil spoke German. Or maybe he might have, and the two were waiting for either of them to join in.

“What do you mean they arenʻt our problem?” Nicky asked, but Aaron didnʻt answer. It didnʻt take long for Nicky to lose his patience. “Are we really doing this all over again? You want to fight these guys all the way through to graduation?”

“I want to be left alone.”

“This is a team sport!”

Everyone else was ignoring them, more than likely getting used to the occasional conversation in German, but Nickyʻs jarring tone seemed to get their attention. Seth glanced over at them with an irritated scroll, but Mattʻs attention seemed to have been caught, sending a curious look between the cousins. Kevin didnʻt look up, having gotten used to their squabbling over the year.

Nicky didnʻt seem to notice the attention that he was getting. “You canʻt live like this, Aaron. I canʻt live like this. Itʻs exhausting and depressing.”

Kit felt a little sorry for Nicky, having to stay by his cousinʻs sides and having to deal with them.

“Okay.” 

“ʻOkayʻ? Just ʻokayʻ? This isnʻt okay, Aaron. Jesus. Sometimes you are so much like Andrew itʻs horrifying.”

Kit looked over at Aaron, his expression was livid. "Fuck you.” 

“Hey,” Kit finally stepped in, taking a step towards the two, Matt doing the same. “Break it up you two. What the hell?”

Kit watched as Aaron pushed off the bench and stormed out, he frowned before turning to Nicky, seeing that he was glowering at Aaron. Matt looked from the door to Nicky, frowning.

“Nicky?” Matt asked.

Nicky put on an overly fake wounded look and tilted his body towards Matt. “Aaron hurt my feelings! Kiss it better, Matt?”

“Faggot,” Seth said, stalking out. 

“Stop saying that word Seth!” Kit yelled out, he honestly hated people using that word and hearing it from Seth whenever he complained was getting on his nerves.

Matt looked unswayed. “You guys all right?”

Nicky faked his confusion. “Of course we are. Why?”

Matt looked at Kit, who was closest, Kit just shrugged as he went back to putting his neck guard on which he soon as much threw aside, he didʻt want to play if he felt like he was being strangled.. Neil just gave Matt a shrug when he looked at him and Kevin just ignored him. Matt sighed letting it go and went to finish getting ready. Nicky gathered the last of his gear and left a couple of seconds later. Kit watched him go.

What just happened wasnʻt an act. They wouldnʻt have let their argument take such a personal turn if they knew that Kit and Neil were listening to everything. Meaning that Andrew didnʻt tell them, Kit didnʻt know the reasoning behind Andrew not telling his family that him and his brother could listen into every word they are saying. Kit didnʻt let any of that bother him, all he was focused on was training well but he did keep an eye on Andrew when he got back from Betsy Dobsonʻs office.

That night Kevin turned up at their door again. Kit waved goodbye to Matt and flipped Seth off as he and Neil followed Kevin down to the car. Andrew was smoking in the driverʻs seat but he stubbed it out seeing that they had arrived. Kit watched Andrew closely as he drove them to the stadium, he knew that he was waiting for them when they got changed and watched as he went up into the stands as the trio continued to the court.

When Kevin locked the court door behind them, Neil asked, “How often do you two come here?” 

“Every night,” Kevin said before looking at Kit, Kevin had seen him head into the stadium when he and Andrew were leaving so he knew that Kit had been training every night too.

“Isnʻt he bored of this by now? Heʻs never going to practice with you, so why humor you?”

“He will,” Kevin said. “He just doesnʻt know it yet.”

Kit rolled his eyes, and started setting things up for their warm ups. He was getting annoyed by his brother always asking stupid questions. Kit flexed his hands as he started getting warmed up, he really wanted to train alone tonight so he would have to tell Kevin to leave without him.

-

They had two weeks of practice before the ERC made an official announcement regarding the district change. The day's practice was over and the team was back at the dorm when Wymack called to warn them. Matt flipped on the TV and went to ESPN to see the segment. They'd missed seeing the news itself but were in time to see the reactions on the news show. The anchorman was gesturing wildly and talking a mile a minute. One of his guests was shaking his head in exaggerated disapproval; the other kept trying and failing to interrupt. 

“This is going to be a fun year,” Kit said sarcastically, he was sitting on one of the desks, one leg up on it holding it to his chest and the other planted on the chair.

“Here it comes,” Matt said. “Theyʻll be all over us like white on rice. Coachʻs phone had been ringing off the hook for weeks now.”

“I didnʻt sign up to be part of a freak show,” Seth said, cracking open another can of beer. “I say, letʻs send him back up north and have this over with.”

“I really donʻt get why you hate Kevin so much,” Kit said as he started to tap his foot.

“Yeah, why do you hate him?” Neil said right after his brother, he wanted an answer to Sethʻs hate as well.

Seth looked at Matt. “I told you both these kids were stupid.”

“Why do you hate him so much? So much that you would wish for him to go back there?” Kit questioned, he would never wish anyone to go to the Ravens especially if you were in Kevinʻs position.

“Because Iʻm sick of him getting everything that he wants just because heʻs Kevin Day,” Seth said Matt was about to cut in to say something but was stopped by a warning finger. “Do you know what fame gets you, shitface? Everything. All he has to do is ask and someone will give it to him. It doesnʻt matter what. It doesn't matter who-” 

Kit stopped listening for a moment, Seth didnʻt know a thing about having fame, he didnʻt know the pressures that you are put under when you are in the public light for so long. Kevin grew up being famous, people watched him grow up, play amazingly, they always saw him at his best. Then they saw him after Riko was done with him, they mourned, because they thought that they knew him, they felt like he was a close friend that just had their future shattered. 

They also watched Kit grow up in the spotlight alongside Kevin and Riko. They saw how he aimed to be perfect at everything, they saw him making trips over to Australia with Coach Moriyama, they saw him help train their U18ʻs and U20ʻs teams, they saw him grow up. They grew attached to him, seeing him as an idol like Kevin and Riko, if he did anything less than perfect they would notice. They mourned his disappearance for months and they continue to do it every year on the day he went missing.

Kit kicked the chair from under his foot, sending it crashing into the ground. The loud noise was enough to make Seth stop his long rant, Kit got to his feet and glared at Seth. 

“Just because you are fucking jealous of Kevinʻs up bringing doesnʻt mean that you completely understand anything about being in the spotlight Seth,” Kit half yelled, he couldnʻt just stand there and let his childhood friend be bashed like this. “You know nothing Seth! Itʻs not easy when you are growing up as the son of the creator of Exy, you donʻt know the pressure that he would have been put under to be perfect every moment of his life.” 

Seth was in shock that someone was talking back to him before snapping, before Matt could stop him he was grabbing the collar of Kitʻs jacket, lifting him up. “Heʻs a privileged asshole that gets everything that he wants, you donʻt know what it would have been like for him. You have no right to be siding with him.”

Kitʻs body started shaking a little, he didnʻt want anyone this close to him so all he could do was grab onto Sethʻs wrists tightly. A sinister smile spreading across his face, he knew where he got this smile from, his father. “You have no fucking right to touch me Seth,” Kit growled out as he squeezed tighter, he felt Seth tighten his grip in his jacket and lift him up more.

Kit knew that the bottom of his jacket was coming up but that was the least of his concerns. “You have no fucking right to comment on how Kevin was brought up. Do you really fucking think it was perfect? You really fucking think that he got everything that he wanted handed to him on a silver platter? No. He had to fucking work for it, just like everyone else in this fucking world.” Kit screamed, he knew that the others could probably hear him but that didnʻt matter.

Kit started putting more pressure into Sethʻs writs, he saw the amount of pain going through his face, when you have this happen to you almost daily you learn a thing or two. “He had to grow up in his motherʻs shadow, he had to be perfect all the time. Do you? Did you grow up with the world watching you and ridiculing you for every little fuck up that you made? Did you hold yourself to such a high standard that you knew was impossible to achieve? Did you spend hours on end training and trying to be perfect because that's what everyone expected of you? No you didn't Seth, so you donʻt have a fucking right to comment on someone elseʻs life. Also yes he might have an attitude but he can play a fuck ton better than you, thatʻs why people like him better than you.”

At this point the other Foxes were standing outside their dorm room door, all of the yelling had gotten their attention. Nicky was standing out there with the girls, they were all a little confused as to why Kit was standing up for Kevin. They all thought that they hated each other. Seth must have said something that set Kit off.

“Now I swear on my fucking life Seth, if you donʻt put me the fuck down I will break your fucking wrist!” Kit yelled, he was getting sick of Seth holding him up.

This was the moment that Matt decided to step in, grabbing the back of Sethʻs shirt yanking him back away from Kit, Kit let go as Seth did. As soon as Seth had his wrists back he made a swing at Kit, hitting him with a right hook.

Neil ran over to his brother, stopping before he heard Kit laugh. It was something that he had heard last year at Millport, some kid got into a fight with Kit and it didnʻt end well for the other kid. Next thing any of them knew Kit launched himself at Seth punching him in the face and ribs.

“Hey! Kit stop!” Neil yelled, grabbing his brother and pulling him away from Seth. Kit just growled at Neil for grabbing him. “Matt, take him out of here.”

Matt let go of Seth who was stunned and bending over in pain, Neil let go of Kit while Matt grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the room and into the hallway. The girls and Nicky were standing back from the door, Andrew and Kevin were standing in their doorway interested in what was going on.

“I warned him, Matt. Donʻt be mad at me,” Kit stated, ripping his arm away from Matt to lean against the concrete wall, he fixed up his jacket before crossing his arms over his chest. “He started it.” His smile had never left his face, his body was starting to shake a little, things normally started hitting him mentally after the fight was over.

“Renee, would you take him to go and get some ice for his eye?” Matt asked, he turned to Renee and Dan who just nodded going to grab Kitʻs arm.

“Donʻt touch me Dan,” Kit warned as he pushed himself off the wall and followed Renee into the girlsʻ room.

Everyone looked to Matt for an explanation while Renee just shut the door behind Kit.

Kit watched Renee stay quiet as she got out a pack of peas for his face, she motioned for him to sit down on the couch, Renee saw how jittery Kit had become in the moments of her shutting the door and now.

“Are you okay, Kit?” Renee asked, sitting a safe distance away from him but close enough to hear him. “We can talk about it if you would like.”

Kit just shook his head as he took the peas off of her, his leg was bouncing and his breath was rigid. “He just was talking shit… I had enough of it,” Kit spoke softly, he knew that everyone heard what he was going off about but he couldnʻt help it.

Renee nodded, she knew that Seth could get on anyones nerves. “Want to stay here for a while? Iʻd be happy to stay up and talk to you if you need,” She offered.

Kit just shook his head, standing up. He needed to go and train, he needed to get his mind away from this. “Iʻll take you up on lunch sometime soon, Iʻm going to the court if you need me,” Kit put the ice pack down and smiled at Renee. “You remind me so much of him.” 

Before Renee could ask who he was talking about, Kit was out the door and in the hallway. Kit ignored the questions and headed to the court, training all night long. Training to punish himself, just like when he was younger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I hope that you are liking this story! Please feel free to comment of things that I can change or if you have any questions, I would love to answer them all for you!


	10. Chapter 10: Meeting Besty, Exy Training, what fun.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kit gets to meet Besty for the first time!  
> Wymack finally tells them that they are going to Kathyʻs show on Saturday,  
> They finally get to go to their classes!

Wednesdayʻs practice was less than ideal for Kit, because classes were scheduled to start Thursday, August 24th which meant that today was the last day that the Foxes could go and have their appointment with Betsy Dobson. Wymack set it up so the Foxes went to go and see her in pairs, trying to not put any holes in their scrimmage lines, this meant that Kit had to play a lot of different positions today. Matt and Dan went first, then Aaron and Kevin, Seth and Allison, and Nicky and Andrew. Kit was put with Neil and Renee, going last.

Once Nicky and Andrew got back to the court Wymack called Neil, Kit and Renee off. Kit groaned as he walked off, Andrew waited for the trio in the inner ring long enough to hand Renee his keys.

“Thank you,” Renee said, smiling. “Iʻll take good care of her.”

“Kevinʻs not allowed to drive your car but Renee is?” Neil asked. 

“Itʻs fun telling Kevin no,” Andrew said with a wicked grin.

“Andrew only lets me and Renee drive,” Nicky said. Kit saw that his smile didnʻt reach his eyes as he watched Renee turn the keys over in her hand. Nicky only had nice things to say about Renee, but Kit saw that he didnʻt like the friendship going on between Renee and Andrew. This was one of the only things that he sided with the upperclassmen. None of them approved of what was going on, they thought that Andrew was an awful influence on someone so sweet like Renee.

“Not Aaron?” Neil asked.

“Donʻt keep Bee waiting,” Andrew said, and headed onto the court.

Kit rolled his eyes and looked to Renee, since she had the keys to the car he would be listening to her. Renee smiled warmly at the brothers and said, “Shall we go?” 

The three split up in the locker room long enough to change out and freshen up. Kit didnʻt see any point in them showering when they would be getting back to a lunch break and more drills, but Kit didnʻt want to show up at Betsyʻs office a sweaty mess. Kit went to the other side of the locker room to change out of his armor, he made sure that his back was too Neil as he tugged on the lighter uniform that theyʻd need for that afternoon for cardio. Kit put his jacket on over the top, leaving it unzipped as he put his gear in his locker. He went out into the lounge to see the others waiting and they left the stadium together.

Kit really didnʻt mind spending time with Renee, she was very cautious of his personal boundaries and that wasnʻt something that he was used to from people. Kit even got uncomfortable when his brother would grab him, but he was thankful when he was over thinking, that doesnʻt mean that he liked it. Kit sat in the back of the car, staring out the window, he knew that Neil wanted to ask her questions, he could see it on his face but Neil just looked out the window. Somehow Renee got the not-so subtle hint and turned on the radio.

There were more cars at Reddin than Kit thought there was going to be, but it made sense school was starting tomorrow so a lot of last minute appointments. Fox Tower was full now and Kit saw the amount of traffic that all of the other students moving in brought to the campus. With spending most of his time at the court Kit didnʻt really have to put up with meeting people, but when he was at the dorm people kept showing up for Seth or Matt. Both Neil and Kit stayed out of sight anytime someone knocked, since Wymack still hadnʻt released their names or faces to the ERC. Kit wanted to try and keep his anonymity for as long as he could.

Reddin was split in half, with psychiatrics down a hall out of sight and an array of doctors' offices closer to the front. Renee signed the brothers in at the desk and went down the hall in search of Betsyʻs office. Kit sat down across from his brother in a pale blue chair in the waiting room, he couldnʻt take his eyes off of the clock. He really didnʻt want to be locked in a room with a psychiatrist. Kit tried everything to try and calm himself down, but his leg wouldnʻt stop bouncing and his hand was tapping on the arm of the couch. 

After what felt like an eternity, Renee returned with a woman on her heels. Dr. Betsy Dobson had pale brown hair that went to her chin and a few extra curves. To anyone she looked friendly, but she wasnʻt harmless. The brown eyes looking out at the brothers through narrow-rimmed glasses were bright and intelligent. Kit instantly took a disliking to her, he had never met someone who looked so happy and wasnʻt faking it, he also had a massive distrust in people who worked in that profession.

“You must be Neil,” She said. “Good morning.” 

Kit watched as Neil forced himself to get up, he looked to Renee who smiled a little at Neil as he followed Betsy down to her office. Renee found a spot close to Kit and smiled softly at him.

“I hope you didnʻt talk shit about me, Renee,” Kit joked a little, he was still finding it hard to stop his leg from bouncing and now that his brother was gone it was a little harder for him to breath.

“Oh, no,” Renee said, faking being hurt. “I will never say anything that bad about you, again.” She said sarcastically.

Kit smiled a little bit and nodded. “Sorry we havenʻt been able to get lunch, but maybe when school starts?” Kit questioned, he didnʻt know why he felt a little more trusting of Renee than the others, it was probably because she reminded him so much of an old friend.

“Oh no, itʻs fine,” Renee said. “I do have one question for you, if you are okay with answering it?”

Kit just nodded and waited for her to ask it. 

“You said that I reminded you of someone, may I know who that is?”

Kit sat there for a minute or maybe five, he really wasnʻt expecting her to ask that. Kit normally wouldnʻt answer that type of question but something in his head decided otherwise. “You remind me of an old friend, his name is Adam. Just how you act and your personality reminds me of him, that's all. Also the fact that you respect my boundaries.” Kit said with a soft smile, he really missed Adam, maybe he would be able to get time off to come and see one of his matches? Highly doubt it.

“Well, Iʻm happy that I remind you of him Kit,” Renee put on a sweet smile. “Thank you for opening up to me and trusting me enough to tell me that.”

Kit just nodded, he didnʻt know what else to say, so he thought that it would be better off in a comfortable silence.

Kitʻs leg bouncing didnʻt stop until Neil came walking out of the room with Besty following close behind. Neil walked straight to Kitʻs side and waited.

“And you must be Kit,” Betsy said with a smile.

Kit nodded and stood up, walking across the room to her, she held her hand out but Kit didnʻt take it. She smiled at him and led him down to her office. Kit was let in first, he looked around the office, a chair and a couch faced each other with a short coffee table in between them. Kit looked at how everything was arranged, he liked it. The pillows were all symmetrical and everything was neat and had itʻs own space. A short bookshelf was against the wall, but only the bottom three shelves were holding books. The top one was covered in glass knick-knacks but everything was all set equidistant to each other.

“Very neat room, I like it,” Kit said, turning to Betsy who was standing in the doorway behind him.

“Thank you, I put a lot of time getting things perfect,” Betsy said cheerfully. “My name is Betsy Dobson. You can call me whatever you like; I'll answer to just about anything from Betsy to Doc to Hey You. Shall I call you Kit, or would you prefer Mr. Josten?”

“Either one is fine,” Kit said with a shrug, he had gone through so many names he will mostly answer to anything that people call him.

“Then for the time being, I will call you Kit. If you're ever offended or feel this makes our relationship too personal, just warn me and I will edit it to something more appropriate to our needs. Sound fair?” She gave him a moment, then said, “Why don't you get comfortable and I'll make you some hot cocoa.”

Kit sat down in the middle of the couch, his leg immediately started bouncing, he dropped his hands in his lap and started tapping his fingers again. “No thank you, but donʻt you think itʻs a bit hot to be drinking that?”

“Chocolate is good anytime of the year, donʻt you think?” Betsy said. 

“I mean, you arenʻt wrong with that,” Kit said, watching as Besty moved over and sat down across from him.

“As you know, today is a casual appointment so we can get to know one another. This isn't a formal session where I'll be analyzing everything you say for feedback and advice, so don't stress too much about it. Have you seen a counselor before?”

“No,” Kit said. “I donʻt really like these kinds of things but I guess they made it compulsory to keep an eye on their players. They got to make sure that their investments are stable.”

“That is a way of looking at why these sessions are necessary,” Betsy said, she shifted in her seat a little, getting more comfortable. “So, tell me a little about yourself, Kit.” 

“What do you want to know?”

“What were your hobbies growing up?” 

Kit sat there for a moment before nodding. “Music.”

“Thatʻs interesting, are you picking that as your major?”

“Music is my major and linguistics is my minor.” Kit said he knew that he picked really odd subjects that couldnʻt be anymore different but he liked both of them.

“Thatʻs an interesting choice, do you know how your parents feel about the subjects you picked?”

Kit wasnʻt expecting a question about his parents. “They donʻt really care, I picked what I did. We arenʻt close to our parents, we live our lives and they live theirs.” Kit said with a shrug.

“So that means that they wonʻt come out for your and your brotherʻs first game?” Betsy asked.

“No, they arenʻt interested in sport, plus even if they were they are always busy with work. They wouldʻt be able to make it if they wanted to. They keep to themselves and it works for us,” He wasnʻt really expecting to talk about his parents but he remembered what him and Neil made up for the questions they would get in Millport.

“Does it work though?”

“Yes, I said that it does,” Kit said, grabbing his knee trying to get it to stop bounding. “I donʻt want to talk about my parents with you.”

Betsy nodded and moved on without missing a beat. “So, how are you getting on with your teammates?”

Kit rolled his eyes and pointed at the reminiscence of a black eye. “Just peachy, canʻt you see? I honestly think that the game on Friday will be a disaster, but I think that no one will be surprised by it.” 

“Do you think that you are ready for the match?”

“Honestly?” Kit said, taking a small moment to find his words. “I think that I am, as long as the team doesnʻt try to kill each other then I think Iʻll be good on the court. I just wished that the team could not try and fight each other when we are training. I also canʻt wait to see the stadium, all the fans.”

“Friday is also marking your debut,” Besty said. “The ERC has been generous, letting David keep quiet on you and your brother this long. I can only imagine the fallout.”

Kit nodded but it took him a little moment to put Wymackʻs first name to him. Betsy had to have been friends with Abby and Wymack, because on his first night here Andrew asked if Abby invited Betsy to dinner. “You should have come to dinner, Andrew seemed to have wanted you there. Wymack and Abby would have wanted another adult to talk to.”

“As close as I am with Abby and David, I was worried that I would have made things a little awkward seeing that it was your first nights here,” Betsy said. “I am their friend, but I respect the sanctity of our relationship as doctor and patient. What you and I say in here is meant for us alone. They will never ask, and I will never tell. Do you believe me?”

Kit stared at her for a moment as if she was serious. “No, how can I? I just met you?”

“I respect that,” Betsy said. “Hopefully, over time I would be able to earn your trust.”

Kit fought back a scoff, he really didnʻt think that he would ever trust her but answered, “Hopefully.”

Betsy could see Kit getting a little more restless as their time went on, Kit gave her simple answers to her questions about the upcoming season and semester. Not getting anything twisted and not to raise any flags. Once his time was up he got up and preceded her from the room. 

Betsy followed him down the hall but stopped in the doorway of the waiting room, she didnʻt stick her hand out to shake, seeing how he didnʻt shake her hand when they met. “It was nice to meet you, Kit.” 

“Yeah, same to you,” Kit lied, turning to see Neil and Renee getting up to leave as well.

Kit was tapping his hand on his leg as he followed the two out of Reddin, heading to the car. Renee smiled at the brotherʻs as she unlocked the car she looked to Kit and said, “That wasnʻt that bad was it? Andrew was convinced that it would be a disaster. He put money on both of you hating Betsy.”

“And you beat against him?” Kit asked.

“Yes,” Renee said. “Itʻs a private bet between the two of us.”

Kit nodded a little, Kit wasnʻt really in the mood to lie and something told him not to lie to Renee. After blurring the truth with the rest of the team over the summer and then that long half an hour talk with Betsy he wasnʻt really mentally wanting to lie.

“Well, I hope that you didnʻt lose too much money, Renee,” Kit said as they all got in the car, Renee waited for the two brothers to be buckled up before turning on the engine. “I think Andrew was a little better in reading people than you Renee.”

Renee started driving the three back to the court, a little bit before she spoke again. “I had a little more faith in you liking her, Kit, but I guess I canʻt pick everything.”

Kit nodded, Neil just looked between Kit and Renee. Both of the brothers knew that there was something more to Renee than her smiles and crosses, Neil couldnʻt really work it out but Kit knew it had something to do with her being a runaway. Because Andrew mentioned it, that him and Renee knew that the Josten twins were like them ʻrunawaysʻ. Something must have helped find faith? Who knows, Kit wasnʻt planning asking her anytime soon.

The trioʻs return was the signal for the midday break for lunch, everyone split up into scattered groups in the stands. They all had the better part of an hour to digest their food and ended the day with two hours of exhausting cardio that Kit and Neil couldnʻt be more happy about. Normally practices would have kept going until dinnertime, but Wymack was willing to give them a one time break because classes were starting tomorrow.

Kit was the last one out of the showers, fixing up his jacket as he saw that everyone was waiting for him. Wymack gestured for him to go and sit down, so Kit walked over to Neilʻs usual seat and sat on the arm of it. Looking around the room he could see that none of the others looked bothered by the unexpected meeting. Andrewʻs group was more distracted by Andrew, who was already fast asleep. Kit knew that he had been spending the week to tweak his medication schedule in preparation for the school year. His body hadnʻt gotten used to it and he was crashing at odd times.

“Alright, maggots,” Wymack said, snapping his fingers, trying to get everyoneʻs attention. “School starts tomorrow, which means that we are switching our practice times. Morning practices will be at 6am at the gym. Afternoon practices are here at three. Iʻve seen your schedules. I know you can get here on time, so none of you are going to be late, you hear me?”

“Yes, Coach,” Everyone seemed to say in unison.

“This isnʻt our campus anymore,” Wymack said. “Everyoneʻs now checked in and ready to go, which means a lot of people to contend with. Campus police doubled their numbers this summer but they canʻt cover everything or everyone. Be smart, be careful. If someoneʻs looking for trouble, for the love of all things holy, donʻt fight them, get help. If the press slips past and wants answers, you tell them weʻre not talking until Kathyʻs show on Saturday.”

“Kathy?” Dan asked. 

“Kathy Ferdinand?” Kit questioned, he was hoping that he wasnʻt right but something was telling him that he was. 

Wymack looked around the Foxes, seeing the confusion on their faces he scowled at Kevin. “Didnʻt you tell them?” 

“There wasnʻt a need to,” Kevin said with a shrug.

“Like, morning show host Kathy Ferdinand?” Matt asked.

“Thatʻs the one,” Wymack said. “We have to do some publicity at some point. It was part of our agreement with Chuck and the ERC. Kevin chose Kathy because she agreed to wait until after our first game. Saturday morning we're heading up to Raleigh to give her an exclusive first interview.”

“She must have fainted when you said yes,” Matt said with a chuckle. “Whenʻs the last time you made an official public appearance?”

“December fourth,” Kevin answered.

Kit listened to them for a moment, he remembered Kathy, she was honestly too bubbly for his liking. He also remembered the times when he had to sit with Kevin and Riko in the hot stage lights, having to fake a smile. He should have honestly gotten a grammy for his acting.

“Or you could come with us to the studio,” Wymack said, ignoring the glare that Kevin was sending him. “Kathy invited the whole team to the broadcast. If we show, we get front row seats. Weʻve got to take the bus up anyway to fit all these yahoos, so thereʻs plenty of room.”

There was no way in hell that Kit would be going and he would make sure that Neil wasnʻt going to this thing. There was no way in hell that he was going to risk his face being on tv, and he sure as hell wasnʻt going to risk having Neilʻs face on tv either.

“He just knows that he has to play nice for her show. He doesnʻt want us to see his civilized side. Can you imagine how his fans would react if they knew the real Kevin Day?” Nicky said with a smile as he patted Kevinʻs shoulder. Kit remembered how Kevin would act in front of the press, he also knew how to act in front of the press, so if Kit went he would literally fall back into more of his old habits.

ʻDo you even remember how to smile, Kevin?” Matt asked, earning a glare from Kevin, all Matt could do was laugh. “Well, thatʻs worth going for. Iʻm in.”

“Iʻll buy us all doughnuts for the ride,” Dan said, before turning to look at Renee, Kit and Neil. “Renee? Neil? Kit?”

“No thank you,” Neil said. 

“No way in hell,” Kit said, his foot that was holding him up on the arm of the chair was bouncing.

“I vetoed both of your choices on the matter,” Wymack said. “The ERC is outing both of you Friday morning. I donʻt want either of you out of my sight until the dust settles. 

“I can take care of myself,” Neil said.

“Watch me beam with pride. Itʻs not your job to take care of yourself anymore. Itʻs your job to play and mind and Abbyʻs to look after you-” Wymack was cut off by Kit.

“No, Coach. Itʻs my job to look after Neil. And Iʻm not letting him go,” Everyone was a little surprised at Kit talking up like that, but none of them understood the major risks they would be taking if they went. 

“No, itʻs your job to play Kit. Get your priorities straight,” Wymack glared at Kit who just shifted uncomfortably under the gaze.

Wymack turned his gaze away from Kit as soon as he saw him look uncomfortable, he looked around at his other Foxes. “Questions, comments, concerns? No? Then get out of here and get some sleep. Kevin, wake that dingbat up without getting punched in the face. I don't need you starting the school year with a shiner.”

“I got it,” Nicky grimaced and gave Andrew a hard shake.

The teams talking hadnʻt been enough to stir Andrew, but Nickyʻs touch got Andrew up quicker than anything. Andrew was moving before he was fully awake, slamming his fist hard into Nickyʻs chest. Kit hissed at the noise that Nicky made as he sagged back against the arm of the couch. Andrew twisted on his cushion to stare at Nicky. Kit didnʻt take his eyes off of Andrew, Kit didnʻt know what to think over Andrewʻs blank-faced surprise.

“Nicky, are you dying?” Andrew asked.

“Iʻm good,” Nicky managed to rasp out.

“Weʻre done here,” Kevin said. “Letʻs go.” 

Andrew looked around the room, taking everyone and everything in. “I missed the powwow.”

“Kevin can summarise it for you later,” Wymack said. “For now, clear out of here before I decide youʻre all better off doing more laps.

The locker room emptied in seconds.

The morning practice ended at eight, so the Foxes could get to their first class on time. It was getting to close for Neil and Kit so they finally accepted Mattʻs offer for a life back to the dorm room. Kit changed out of his morning workout outfit into something more appropriate for class, grabbing his messenger bag and headed out the door with Neil, just in time to join a small wave of athletes heading down Fox Towerʻs hill. Most of them were wearing their jerseys as a first-day tradition, so the sidewalk was an eyesore of orange and white. Kit kind of wanted to join in on the tradition but opted out seeing that no one knew that he was part of the team yet. But neither him or Neil would have a choice tomorrow; the entire team was expected to be in colours on game day.

The brothers made their way to their English class with time to spare, Kit walked straight up into the back corner and Neil followed him. The teacher didnʻt show until the bell rang and she came bouncing in with curls flying. She was a perky teaching assistant who acted like freshman composition was the greatest thing theyʻd ever study at Palmetto State. Kit didnʻt really follow along with her as she went though the syllabus, but he did listen and decided that she was mental. He was happy to find out that instead of midterms, theyʻd have reports of varying lengths due. Kit was able to bullshit his way through honors English and do great so this was going to be fun for him.

The only thing that she covered today was the syllabus and short self-introductions. As soon as it was over, she dismissed them with a cheery farewell until next Tuesday. From there Kit had to say goodbye to Neil to head to his linguistics class, which wasnʻt that big of a class but Kit still picked a spot in the back corner of the room.

Unlike his English class, the teacher didnʻt spend too long going over the syllabus before starting an introduction to the class and what they would be learning about in it. Kit was happy that his teacher seemed really interested in this, meaning that his voice wasnʻt going to be putting him to sleep if he had a long night training with Neil and Kevin or by himself. Kit took notes of a few things but he knew that his brain could hold onto the more important things, he was proud of the fact that he had a good memory, if he was really interested in something he was able to remember the information forever. But the unlucky part was that some memories refused to leave, no matter how much he drank.

So after a very interesting seventy-five minutes of learning what they would be doing in the first semester the class was over. Kit immediately went to go and find Neil, eventually meeting up with him near the busy amphitheater. During their classes the campus came to life, the late sleepers and the early risers were all up and about, meaning there was a sea of orange and white crowding the sidewalks. 

The amphitheater in the middle of campus was packed with booths representing various student organizations. Kit and Neil mostly walked past them ignoring the people trying to hand out pamphlets to them, around most of the tables people were talking about the upcoming Exy and football games. Kit just followed behind Neil, not paying attention to anything else that was going on, he just wanted to get out of there. But as they were walking past one stand they both had a stack of magnets pressed into their hands. Kit looked through them as they walked. Printed on the magnets were every team's fall schedules. Kit, along with Neil kept the Exy one, tossing the others into the trash. Even though the Foxes knew the finalized fall schedule a few weeks ago it was still something that he wanted to keep. Palmetto State was facing Edgar Allan on Friday, October 13th. It was too close for Kitʻs liking.

Kit followed Neil to one of the three dining halls. Two of them were for the general student body and the third was just for athletes, justified to the general populace because of the teamʻs training schedules and nutritional needs. All three of the halls were set up like buffets, but the athletes only ever had one unhealthy thing available day whereas the regular dining hallsʻ menu frequently boasted pizzas and a wide variety of desserts. The meal plan included in Kit and Neilʻs contact granted the both of them limitless access to all of the halls but Wymack was very clear that they should stick to the athletes hall.

Kit scanned his food card and started piling enough food onto his tray to make sure that there was enough to last him until the end of practice that was going to end at eight oʻclock. After Kit finished he followed Neil back to their dorm room. After the fight between Seth and him, Kit had been avoiding the dorm whenever he could. Kit also made sure that his and Neilʻs schedule lined up as much as it could but Neil felt the need to pick six subjects so Kit had more free time than him.

The dorm was empty when they got back, so Kit sat down on the couch pulling out his notebooks for the day to go through the syllabi. Kit looked over at Neil who was sitting at his desk, looking like he was having trouble starting on the work. He just rolled his eyes and went to look at his text book, even though it was his first day he already had a short paper for English and to read an analysis of the chapter. Kit leaned back on the couch and made a start on the paper for English, after a short amount of writing Kit gave up on writing because he wasnʻt able to focus. He just leaned back into the couch with his book on his lap and fell asleep.

A gunshot. Kit immediately snapped up, falling off his spot on the couch and his books falling onto the floor. Getting to his feet before he realized that the crack that he heard was the lock snapping undone on the dorm door. A bemused Matt standing in the doorway.

“Hard at work already I see,” Matt said dryly.

Kit stood there for a moment, trying to regain his breath and stop his heart from beating out of his chest, he looked over at Neil who was talking but it took Kit a moment to make sure that he was okay.

“You two should probably cut back on your late night training, especially you Kit, you need to cut back on the weird times you go out after you get back of the morning,” Matt said pointing at Kit who finally nodded a little bit.

“Iʻm fine,” Neil and Kit said.

Kit knew that they only had a short time here. Kit would never pick schooling over Exy, he grew up living for it and for the next couple of months he was going to do something that made him feel alive, worth something to this world and himself.

“You both say that an awful lot,” Matt said. “Iʻm here thinking that you both donʻt really know what the words mean.”

Kit just shrugged, he really didnʻt know how to answer that. Luckily Matt didnʻt push anything out of the two brothers and just went to his computer. Kit sat back down thinking about the next few months leading up to their Raven game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!
> 
> I hope you guys are liking the story! Please comment if there is something that I should change about it or just comment on questions that you have! I would really love to answer anything!
> 
> I hope that you all enjoy the story!


	11. Chapter 11: First Game as a Fox

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Panic attack

Fridayʻs excitement was nothing compared to Thursday. Overnight people had decked the whole school out in vibrant orange and white streamers along with ribbons and banners hanging off every sidewalk lamp. Live student bands were going to be playing in the amphitheater, a parade was going to happen in the afternoon and cheerleaders roamed the campus in small packs, flaunting their short skirts and revving up school spirit wherever they could.

Kit honestly thought that it was pretty impressive that the whole school was getting in the spirit, even though he knew deep down that the Foxes had no chance of winning their season opener. They were playing against their longtime rivals Breckenridge. Until Edgar Allan moved south, Breckenridge was the largest and first-ranked team in the district. Fortunately for Palmetto State Saturdayʻs football game had had a much better chance at winning. It would be such a downer if Palmetto lost both opening games.

Campus police was something that Kit didnʻt like seeing them around but it was better than him having to deal with the press. One thing Kit didnʻt realise was that wearing his team jacket and jersey would cause a few problems with his classmates and people around campus. He caused a small disruption whenever he went. Kit really didnʻt do anything about it, he heard the whispers about him and his brother, they were both a secret that was finally let out of the bag.

Their teammates had anticipated this, knowing somehow that there was going to be trouble with them. Dan was waiting outside Kitʻs music class for him to help take him to his next class. He was grateful for her being there because there were a lot of people talking. Anyone who followed the schoolʻs news knew that the ERC bent the rule to protect Kit and Neilʻs anonymity. Kit had a bit of a habit of checking the internet through the summer with Neil, making sure that the ERCʻs plan was working. As of this morning, though, both of their names were everywhere.

It was disturbing to find out that Andrew didnʻt lie to either of them back in May. Almost every article that Kit found talking about his spot on the team and how it was unclear because of how he played different positions, Kevin was quoted saying that ʻthis would help shake up their team because there's no bigger threat than someone being able to play more than one postionʻ. Kevin also said that one day both Kit and Neil would be Court. It was a bold statement coming from a former champion, and it only added to the intrigue surrounding the Foxesʻ tenth and eleventh players. The looks that Kit kept getting was making it hard for him not to just go back to bed, but Dan made sure that Kit kept moving to his next class.

Kit stayed at the back with Neil. After maths Renee took Neil to his history class, Kit tagged along because he had the rest of the day of. Kit thought that now might be a good time to have lunch with Renee seeing that she had a free period as well.

“Renee, want to get lunch together?” Kit asked as he walked next to her, hands in his pockets.

“Sure, sounds like a plan,” Renee smiled.

The two of them walked in a comfortable silence to the athletes dining hall, where they got a lot of looks because of Kit. After the two of them filled up their trays they sat across from one another at an empty table. 

“What do you think about the game tonight? Do you know what positions youʻll be put in as?” Renee asked as she started to eat her salad.

Kit thought for a moment, he really didnʻt know what he was going to be playing tonight. “No clue, Iʻm hoping striker or backliner, but honestly Iʻll be good in any, I just want to play,” Kit said with a shrug.

“Iʻve seen you play goalie, I think you are better than most people realize. You have a real talent, Kit,” Renee said with a smile, Kit just felt his face start to heat up. He didnʻt like getting compliments.

“You are pretty great yourself,” He said.

The two stayed in silence for a little while they ate their lunch, most people around them were making comments every now and then but nothing bad enough to warrant either of them saying something.

“So you know if you will be taking someone to the banquet, Kit?” Renee finally broke the silence between them as they started to finish up their lunch.

“No, I wasnʻt going to, not interested in taking anyone or in going for that matter,” Kit said as he finished the last mouthful of his meal. “What about you Renee, you going to take anyone?” 

“I was thinking of asking Andrew,” 

“As friends right?” Kit asked. “Andrew doesnʻt seem the type to date someone like you, no offense.”

Renee chuckled a little and nodded. “Yes, as a friend, I donʻt like him like that. The others have bets going on us actually dating in the future but nothing will come of it, as you said Andrew isnʻt the type to date someone like me.” 

Kit nodded, over the summer training he learnt that something the Foxes have in common besides Exy and hardship was their strange obsession with betting on the weirdest things. With the team, a week couldnʻt go by without money being bet on something or another. 

Kit and Renee put their trays away and started to head back to Fox Tower. “You know, I donʻt get why the team donʻt like your friendship with Andrew,” Kit said, fanning himself with his jacket. 

“I guess they just donʻt understand why we are friends, we share an understanding,” Renee said as they got closer to the crosswalk. “Also, if you donʻt mind me asking, why donʻt you wear short sleeved shirts?”

Kit stopped for a moment, he had never been asked why he doesnʻt wear short sleeves before. “Personal reasons, I feel uncomfortable if I do,” Kit said, he knew that it wasnʻt a proper answer but it was the best he could give. “But regarding your friendship with Andrew, I respect it.”

When they got to the crosswalk Renee had to say goodbye because she had another class, Kit waved at her and headed alone up to Fox Tower. The dorm was empty so it gave Kit time to start working on some work that he got from maths and music, he found it hard to concentrate on any work because he was too hyped up for the game. It wasnʻt too long before Neil got back to the dorm, with a quick hello to Kit, Neil was off into the bedroom.

Kit shrugged and put his books away in his bag, moving over to the couch, laying down on it. Everything was hitting him now, he wasnʻt playing to save his own skin, he was playing for the twenty-one thousand people enrolled at Palmetto State, he was playing for something that the school would be backing no matter what happened that night. It was almost as scary as training at the Nest, knowing that more people were relying on him to play well. 

Matt collected Kit from the couch and told him to go to the girlsʻ room for a light dinner, Neil joined them moments later. Kit was making small talk with Renee about some of his classes, no one else really bothered them, not knowing why Kit was warming up to her and none of the other upperclassmen. Dan went to go and check on Andrewʻs lot. Her expression was grim when she returned, but Matt gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. 

“Heʻll be fine,” Matt said. “He was last year.” 

“I thought Kevin didnʻt play last year,” Neil said, looking at them, while Kit stopped his conversation with Renee.

The upperclassmen exchanged looks. Kit looked around at them, seeing that they were having a silent conversation. Seth and Allison were both looking very impatient and looked like they disapproved of something, but Renee was smiling a little. Matt grimaced and shrugged leaving, leaving the decision to Dan. Finally Dan sighed and turned to the two brothers.

“Thereʻs something that we havenʻt told you two yet,” Dan said. “We were going to tell you a while ago, but the two of you were having so many problems with Andrew we figured weʻd wait. We didnʻt know how either of you would react.”

“We didnʻt trust either of you to keep your mouths shut,” Allison translated, Kit just glared at her.

Dan made a face at her but didnʻt deny it. “So Andrewʻs technically legally required to take his medication, right?”

Kit stilled for a moment, he had a feeling that he knew where this conversation was going, he looked at Renee who gave him a sad smile and a shrug of her shoulder. Somewhat confirming what he didnʻt want to hear. 

“Yes. It was part of his plea bargain,” Neil said, Kit turned back to look at Dan.

“He struck a bargain of his own with Coach,” Dan said. “The only reason he signed with us is because Coach agreed to let him come off his drugs for game nights. Coach ran it by us first since weʻre the ones out on court with him, but no one else can know. Not even Betsy knows he does it. Sheʻs his doctor; sheʻd have to put an end to it.” 

Kt took a moment to let the information sink in. “How is Andrew meant to guard the goal if heʻs going to get sick?” Kit asked, he remembered on their way to Columbia Andrew was shaking so violently, that he dry heaved on the roadside and sounded like he was tearing his throat apart.

“He's not sick yet,” Matt said. He put his hand up at eye level. “Andrew's withdrawal is a three-stage process. Imagine you're flying high all day. Then suddenly you stop drugging. First you crash.” He smacked his hand down to waist height. “That's stage one. He doesn't get sick until stage two.”

“Andrew adjusts his schedule on Fridays depending on what time our serve is,” Dan said. “He misses his dose a half hour before the game starts and always plays the first half. Usually he can ride stage one until halftime. Then he takes his medicine again and spends the rest of the night on the bench.”

Kit sat there and nodded along to their explanation before saying, “Let me guess, we donʻt really want to know what stage three is?” 

“Stage three is, you give him his drugs or get stabbed,” Matt said dryly. “Itʻs not fun. Luckily weʻve only seen him get to that stage once.”

“He wonʻt get that bad tonight,” Dan jumped in. “Besides Neil, youʻll be half a court away,” Dan looked at Kit before taking a moment. “And Kit, youʻll probably be half a court away as well. We just thought that we should give the two of you a heads-up, even if itʻs a couple of months late. Are the two of you going to be okay with this?”

“Is it going to interfere with our match?” Kit and Neil asked.

“Not more than anything else will,” Matt said.

“Then I donʻt care,” Neil said. “ He can do whatever he wants.” 

Kit looked at his brother and nodded. Kit didn't understand why Andrew would come off his medication for a sport that he hated but he just put it down to Andrew hating his medication more than he hates Exy. 

It didnʻt take long to clean up their mess from dinner, the group went out into the hallway to meet with Andrewʻs group. Andrew looked like he was on the top of the world as usual, but Kevin looked tense. Kit could feel it, this was Kevinʻs first season back, playing for the Foxes as a right-handed striker. He had to play his best tonight if he wanted to be taken seriously. Kit knew that Kevin would be able to do it, even though he was using his weaker hand and had the Foxes as backup, Kit knew deep down that Kevin could do it.

They left the dormitory early, but with all of the traffic they were almost late. Between morning practice and now the stadium had turned into a madhouse. The parking lots were crammed and security was everywhere, directing fans and watching out for the drunks. Every gate was open and the guards manning them were manned with a metal detector. A line of police cars and two ambulances kept a path clear for the athletesʻ cars.Two guards were waiting outside their door, and after checking the players to make sure that none of them were bringing anything illegal into the stadium, they were allowed into the locker room. 

Wymack was in the lounge and immediately directed them to the changing room. Kit was in front of Neil and didnʻt see that Kevin had taken him to see the inner court, he was too busy trying to calm his nerves down. He didnʻt know what position he would be put in but he knew that he couldnʻt make a slip up wherever he was. As he changed he couldnʻt stop his body from shaking, the last time he stepped onto the court with Kevin for a game was too long ago, he messed up badly that game and he paid for it.

Everything was flashing in his head, phantom pains twisted in his hands and legs. He couldnʻt fail, not tonight, not after four years. Not after the amount of training that he's been doing. Kit knows that if he fucks something up he will be punished. He didnʻt look down as he got dressed, pulling the uniform over his armor. He walked out into the foyer, holding his neck guard as he found his seat. He started putting hair up into a braid tugging at it trying to ground himself.

Wymack handed out the Breckenridge Jackalʻs roster. Matt took one look at the starting line-up and made a face.

“Hey, Seth. Looks like Gorillaʻs back.”

“Shit.” Seth held his hand out in a demand for the paper.

Kit looked around the room, he wasnʻt in the nest. He was here, with the Foxes. His eyes landed on Kevin, even after four long years Kevin still looked the same as he did back then. Knowing that he would be playing alongside Kevin in the orange and white meant that both of them were out of harm's way. But somewhere, deep down, Kit still felt the dread and fear of doing something wrong will end in him being punished.

A click in front of Kitʻs face made him jump a little in his spot, he turned to see Neil smiling at him. “You okay, Kit?” Neil whispered.

All Kit could do was nod, he didnʻt like blurring the truth for his brother but he couldnʻt tell him that he might start freaking out.

Wymack looked at the Josten twins before continuing. “Starters down the line: Seth, Kevin, Dan, Matt, Aaron, Andrew. Iʻve got four subs each half, sorry Kit youʻll be playing different positions. So youʻll all get a swap except the goalies. Unless you want to swap with Kit. Kevin, youʻre out if your hand so much as itches. Donʻt be stupid tonight.”

“Itʻs been eight months,” Kevin said. 

“Donʻt risk it your first game back,” Abby said. 

Both Abby and Wymack looked at each other and nodded, happy that Kevin didnʻt argue back. So they sent the Foxes scrambling for their helmets and racquets. They lined up in playing position, with Dan out of place at the front as their captain. Kit was the last out into the inner court, the screaming was something that hit him first, even though his helmet muffled some of the screaming he couldnʻt help but smile at the noise. 

Kit knew that the Foxes were the smallest team in the NCAA and Breckenridge was one of the largest, but seeing their black-and-tan uniforms crowding their half made him feel pathetic. Kit tired his best not to look over at their half as they started their warm ups. But anytime that he saw the Jackals out of the corner of his eyes, he saw red and black. Their twenty minute warm ups went quicker than Kit would have liked, each team was motioned off court by the referees; the Jackals out of the north door and the Foxes out of the south.

Kit could feel the energy coming off the crowd as they screamed and cheered. As the announcer called their names, the Foxes lifted their racquets in a silent salute. The crowd roared louder with each name. “For the Breckenridge Jackals,” the announcer said, and went through the list of players slotted to play tonight. The Jackals' names were greeted with mixed boos and polite applause from the Foxes' side, but there were large sections of Jackal fans in attendance on the north side of the stadium. Their pep band played the fight song as soon as the last name was called, but Orange Notes promptly drowned them out with Palmetto's song. 

The six referees for the game opened the doors on either side of the court and entered. At their beckon, Dan and the opposing captain joined them at half-court for an obligatory handshake and the coin toss. The head referee signaled first serve for the Jackals and home court for the Foxes. Three referees followed each captain off and arranged themselves along the wall near the court lines.

Wymack looked at the people in his starting line and started shooing them. “Get out there and make them sorry that they showed up tonight. I want my subs at the wall cheering them on, but if you trip up a referee Iʻll cut you from the game. Letʻs go.” 

Dan let her players to the door and trumped on the wall when they were all ready. The announcer called off the Foxesʻ starting line from offense to defense. Kevin was the first on the court, Kit could hear the crowd go crazy, this was the first time in eight months that he was playing. No matter what team they rooted for they were all cheering for Kevin, all predictions said that he would never play again, but here he was, walking to half court.

Seth followed Kevin on and to the half-court line. Dan was the team's offensive dealer and stoof halfway between the first-fourth and half-court. Matt and Aaron spread themselves out at the first-fourth and Andrew was on last going for his stop in the goal.

Breckenridge filed on next. Kit gulped a little when he spotted the guy that they were talking about in the locker room.

“Both of you remember to thank Kevin and Seth for getting crushed instead of you.”

Kit thought that he might have been joking but nodded. Kit really wished that Neil wasnʻt put on with that man on there.

Nicky looked at Neil and Kit. “Hey,” he said, sounding uncharacteristically hesitant. “We havenʻt really had a chance to talk after… Well, I wanted to say sorry, to both of you, but I kept chickening out. Are we okay?” 

“I donʻt know,” Neil said.

“You know what you did was wrong, right? Wait, you did something to Neil?” Kit said in a hushed tone, sending an angry look back to Nicky.

“Nothing happened, Kit. Eyes forward,” Neil said, motioning for his brother to look back at their teammates getting ready in their postions.

Nicky stood there for a moment before sighing. “Iʻm sorry for what I did to you Kit, I really am, to both of you.”

The referees slammed the doors shut with a resounding bang and bolted them shut. Kit watched the two teams inside, he wasnʻt going to take his eyes off of the court the entire time that he was off. He saw them yelling at each other, he doubted that it was pleasant because Seth flipped off one of the Jackalsʻ strikers. Seth then turned the gesture on Kevin a second later. 

“Oh god, it's training all over again…” Kit muttered as he banged his head softly on the wall.

“They could at least pretend to get along when we are playing against this team,” Abby said at Kit and Neilʻs back.

“Not a chance!” Nicky said. “Ten bucks says they hit each other within fifteen minutes.”

Kit shook his head and tuned out their talking and focused on Kevin, he was clenching his racquet tightly. It was something that he saw Kevin do a lot of when he was nervous about something. The warning buzzer rang out, there was a minute before everything would be off and running, one minute until they could start.

The buzzer went off again, and the game began. Breckenridgeʻs dealer flicked the ball into the air and slammed it with his racquet. The distinctive crack was what set the teams to break off their formations, rushing to find their marks on the court. Kit watched his team as they crashed forward into the other. It was going to be a rough game from the get-go.

Kit watched as Dan caught the ball and threw it to Seth. Her momentum sent her flying into the wall further up and the Jackal deal slammed into her a second later. Kit could feel the shutter that the wall gave. He watched as Dan practically threw the other dealer to the side and went back into the game. 

Matt and Aaron were pushing the jackal strikers up the courts away from the goal, they didn’t want to leave too much empty space between them and Andrew. Kit managed to drag his eyes away from Andrew and look up the court where the ball had hit into the wall. Dan was the 1st to get it again and she sent it over Seth’s head. Seth and Gorilla raced each other to the other end of the court to catch the wall on the rebound. Kit whined watching as Gorilla took a swipe at the strikers racquet, it didn’t look like much of a hit but it sent Seth’s racquet flying.

Following the ball back down to home goal as Gorilla threw it down there, Andrew just stood there and watched as it bounced off the wall near the goal. One of the Jackal strikers managed to get around Matt to get the ball. Andrew stopped spinning his stick and shifted readying himself just in time. The striker took a fast shot on the goal and Andrew beat it away forcefully sending it right down the middle of the court. Kit watched as the jackal dealer tried to catch it but didn’t anticipate how fast it was travelling down the court so it bounced off the net of his racquet. Dan managed to steal it from him but he bowled her over in the process and the ball was sent rolling down the court. Kit watched closely as Dan ran after the jackal dealer, she didn’t catch up to him in time to stop him from passing the ball but she didn’t slow down. She slammed hard enough on to the dealer to send them both sprawling.

Body checks were only legal when played by or against players who were carrying the ball but allowances were made for hits that happened in the first two seconds after the ball left the players net. Officials knew sometimes athletes were simply going too fast to stop in time. It allowed a loophole for spiteful collusion like Dan’s but it only made the game more exciting.

Aaron was small enough to be able to get under his strikers arm, intercepting the ball in a near impossible move and kept spinning back towards home court. He passed the ball to his brother without slowing and he was back on his feet a heartbeat later, and hit the ball with an underhand swing to clear it from home court.

Kit didn’t make a sound, he was amazed by how they were playing. He spent all summer watching them fight each other, but now he finally saw them work as a whole. No matter how much they hated each other they hated the other team more. Kit knew that they were still too fractured to be a great team but he finally saw proper potential in them. He saw what got them to championships last year.

Kit watched on, finally seeing the real reason that the Jackals were the best team in their district, they played dirty. They pushed up on Andrew, leaving him no room to be able to hit the ball down the court then they tried to score on him. Matt threw himself onto Gorilla like his life depended on it, taking them both out after Gorilla knocked aside to foxes like they were nothing. Matt’s unguarded striker caught the ball and fired and the crowd went crazy when the goal lit up red behind Andrew.

Kit ignored the situation with Matt and Gorilla to focus on Kevin, who looked like he was having some heated words with his defender who decided that it was a good idea to shove Kevin on his way by. Kevin shoved him back almost hard enough to knock him over. The Jackal backliner spun around to say something, and Seth gestured expansively as he joined in. Kevin ignored the Jackal to say something to Seth, and Seth answered by throwing a punch at him. 

Kit just remained watching closely, the yells and cheers pounding in his head. Kit zoned out a little but the shock of the wall rippling under his hands was enough to draw his attention. Seth was scrabbling for his breath, trying to get up but then grumbled to the ground. Kit watched as Seth was struggling to get up, he had to call it, he couldnʻt play like that, he was body checked by a gorilla for godʻs sake. He could see out of the corner of his eyes Kevin getting squished between the jackal back liners. He lost the ball and his racket but somehow kept his feet.

Seth finally lifted his racket alerting the referees that he was unable to continue the period and alarm went off to stop the game. To state watching Seth as he struggled to his feet, stumbling sideways into the wall as he leaned heavily against it, waiting for his balance to come back before he started walking. Dan ran to help him and Alison kept pace with him on the outside of the court.

Wymack came up behind Kit and yet to smack a hand on his shoulder, only for Kit to move out of the way. “You're in, I know that you would probably have protested at your brother going on instead of you so I made the smart decision so we don’t get into a fight.” 

Kit nodded and grabbed his racquet, his hands were shaking, he couldn’t mess up, not here with thousands of people watching. Kit waited outside the door for Seth to get helped by Allison to the bench. 

“Get some!” Nicky yelled out as Dan motioned for Kit to walk into the court.

The overhead announcer called out the swap: “Going on for Seth Gordon is freshman Kit Josten, number eleven, of Millport, Arizona.”

Kit took a deep breath in and tired not to start thinking and just let his body play. 

“Ready?” Dan asked. 

“Fuck yeah I am.” Kit said, clacking sticks with her.

They jogged across the court together by the time Seth finally called out both teams were inside the first fourth again. Kit made his way over to his spot near the home court wall.

“Is it true?” The jackal dealer called over to him. “Coach said you’re a one-year rookie and so is your brother.” 

"Are you kidding me?" a girl demanded, she was the backliner that Kevin had been fighting off the whole match. "A national champion and an amateur? South Carolina's gotten even crazier than usual."

"An amateur and a cripple, you mean," the dealer said. 

“Shut up, you have no right to comment. Dirty players,” Kit growled at him, he wasn’t in the mood to hear a team who cheats complain about who they’re up against.

Kit watched Andrew closely, he was holding the ball and he took two steps back into his goalkeeper territory and waited for the buzzer. When the buzzer sounded overhead everyone was settled and still Andrew lifted the ball in his glove hand.

“Hey, Rabbit,” he said, not looking at Kit, the cheer was something that Kit could have lived without but it got him more focused. “Time to run. This one’s for you.” 

Andrew bounced the ball off the ground and swung with everything he had. Kit didn't wait to see him hit it. He threw himself away from the wall and flew down the court as fast as he could, vanishing past the backliners and strikers who were just starting to move. Kevin's mark cut across the court toward him, meaning to cut him off, but Kit was faster than she expected and he led her all the way down the court. 

Everything seemed right to Kit at this moment, he saw where the ball had hit off the back wall of the court and jumped to grab it. He knew as soon as he touched the ground his mark would be there, as soon as he landed on the ground he moved out of the way, barely missing getting hit in the hand. Counting the steps that he took, he didnʻt have enough breathing room with his mark right on his trail so he passed to Dan. As soon as he made the pass his mark collided with him, his hands tightened around his racquet as his brain went into autopilot. 

Dan passed to Kevin, and Kevin managed to get the strikers breathing room. Kit saw that Gorilla smashed Kevinʻs racquet out of his hands, Kit also saw the Jackalsʻ goalie stepping out of the goal to smack the ball down the court. Matt intercepted it and aimed high, Kit saw what he was trying to do and ran for the ball. Kevin had Gorilla on him and Kit wasnʻt going to let Kevin get hurt like that again, Kit was in the right stop to get the ball. His mark was right on him as he ran up the court getting close enough to aim for the goal. 

It took him a split second on his last step to aim and swing, a force hit into his back and sent him sprawling to the floor but the cheers was something that told him that he made the goal. Once his mark got off him, Kit was able to get up and grab his racquet, hearing the cheers from down the court. 

“You got lucky,” His mark spat out as she walked back to her spot. 

Kit stopped for a moment and smiled at her. “Well, it just might be that Iʻm better than you.” 

The match restarted and Kit couldnʻt really tell you much about it other than body-checks and Gorilla smashing Kevinʻs racquet everytime he got the ball. Kit could feel the anger in his heart as he watched Kit get hit so many times, he wanted to step in but he couldnʻt be sent off so he kept his mouth shut and started to play more dirty. His mark was starting to get frustrated at him for body checking her with as much power as he could.

Once Kit had the ball again he ran to get clear of his mark and threw it for Kevin, Kevin caught it, only to get his racquet smacked out of his hands again. Kit watched as Gorilla stormed off after the ball, and Kevin was left pressing his left hand into his stomach as he searched for Matt. 

“Get him off of me!”

Matt didn't answer, but he heard. The next time both teams were up inside the first-fourth line, Matt dropped his striker and went after Gorilla. Matt tossed his racquet aside to free up his hands and took one powerful swing, punching Gorilla right under his chest armor. Gorilla slumped forward a bit under the blow and the buzzer called a foul. Gorilla needed only a second to get his breath back and then went after Matt. Matt backpedaled away from his giant hands, putting as many people between him and Gorilla as he could. Gorilla shoved his teammates out of the way as he chased Matt across the court.

As soon as Matt passed the goal, Andrew stepped into Gorilla's path. He looked ridiculously small as he watched Gorilla bear down on him, but he stood his ground and waited with his racquet at his side. Gorilla jerked a beefy hand at him in a demand to move, but Andrew stayed silent and still. Kit held his breath, waiting for Gorilla to move Andrew with force. 

Luckily the referees got there before things could escalate. Matt accepted his yellow card without argument and flashed Kevin a thumbs-up. Through the open court doors Kit could hear the crowd jeering and cheering the short fight. 

Wymack was at the door and looked at Kevin and Andrew, he knew that Kevin would be coming off so he looked at Aaron and called out for him. “Aaron, you are off, Kit, you take his spot. Neil is on to replace you and Seth is coming back on to replace Kevin.” 

Kit looked to Aaron who just nodded as he walked off, Kit walked over to Aaronʻs stop as Nicky walked in. Allison was also swapping with Dan. Kit was able to hear the announcer call out the changes, and the confusion that he caused. 

“And Kit Josten..? is swapping with Aaron Minyard.”

The rest of the half went by with a breeze, Kit was playing more aggressive then he had ever played last year, body checking his mark and knocking their racquet out of their hands. His striker wasnʻt ready to have someone that aggressive staying on him at every moment of the game. Half time went by and Kitʻs nerves were still high, he was going to be sitting off for the first part of the second half. 

The second half went on with a few little hitches here and there before Kit was put in, swapping with his brother. Throughout his time on the court he managed to score once more, Kevin was surprised at how well the two of them worked together. Kit always seemed to know where he was on the court without having to make any callouts. Kit felt like he was in his element, he was playing with Kevin but he knew deep down any slip up from him would land him in deep shit.

It was the last minute of the game, the Foxes were down by one, one more goal would make it a shoot out, something that the Foxes needed a potential win.

Kit had the ball, it was just passed to him by Kevin, and he was running toward the goal. His mark was on him, running him closer to the wall, Kit was pulling his racquet back on his last few steps to score. But the next thing he knew was his body being smashing into the wall with a massive thud. The ball went flying along with his racquet, Kit laid there as he heaved for a breath. A pounding on the other side of the wall could be felt but it wasnʻt enough to get him to look away from his mark.

His mark got the ball and ran with it throwing it to one of the strikers, who managed to score in the dying seconds of the game. Kit sat there against the wall, trying to get his breath. He knew what was going to happen to him now, he cost his team the game.

All the noise around him seemed to blur as the voice at the back of his head got louder. He could feel the pain in his hands as he ungloved them, they were shaking violently. Kit brought his knees up to his chest as he tried to focus on the blurry figures moving around the court. Someone was moving in front of him.

“Iʻm sorry, Iʻm sorry… I didnʻt mean to fuck up…” Kit whispered as he saw the face of a man that he never wanted to see again in his life. 

ʻYouʻre useless! I spent so much time trying to get you to be something and here you are throwing it back in my face you ungrateful brat!ʻ

He knew that voice better than anything, he knew what was going to happen next. A hand reached out for his neck, Kit immediately scrambled to the side. He didnʻt want to get hurt, he didnʻt want another broken bone. But he knew moving away would only make it worse.

“Stay away from me.” Kit said, clutching his hands tightly.

“Kit.”

Kit froze for a moment, the master didnʻt know that as his name. 

“Kit, you with me?”

Kit shook his head as he felt a hand reach behind his head, pulling off his neck guard. He froze up at the touch. 

“Breath in, Kit. Come on, you are here, at The Foxhole Court in South Carolina.”

“S-south Carolina..?” Kit muttered out, his vision still out of focus.

“Thatʻs right Kit. Itʻs me, Renee, Neil is next to you.”

Kit shook his head a little bit trying to take a deep breath in. Closing his eyes, he was able to focus on something. 

“Kit, Iʻm going to take your hand now, is that okay?”

Kit just nodded as he felt someone take his hand, holding it softly, not hurting him. This was new. He slowly opened his eyes to see Renee standing there, it took a moment for the rest of his vision to sharpen into focus. 

“Renee..? What happened..?” Kit said as Renee led him past worried looking teammates.

“You just had a small panic attack Kit, Iʻll help look after you for tonight, if you want that.” Renee led him out of the court, past the screaming fans, something didnʻt feel right in letting her help him but he felt like he could trust her. She wasnʻt going to hurt him.

“Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I hope you are all liking the story! Pleace comment on anything that I should change or add! I would love to hear your opinions on the story!


	12. Chapter 12: Meeting Kathy once again and being on live tv

Kit stayed sitting on the couch, hearing a muffled beeping from the bedroom. He knew that it was going to be time to go soon. Throughout the night he spent most of his time in the girls room, talking to Renee and drinking a bottle of whisky that they had. Kit saw the looks that the others gave him, he didnʻt like being pitied, he didnʻt want to be seen as weak to them.

Renee was someone that Kit found himself trusting unconsciously, she didnʻt look down at him, she respected his boundaries. It was something that he didnʻt know that he needed after four years.

A sudden pounding at the door dragged him away from his thoughts, standing up, bottle still in hand he opened the door to see a very awake Wymack, it looked like he got a lot of sleep or maybe he didnʻt sleep at all.. “Get the other idiots up,” Wymack said, giving Kit a once over, his gaze stopping on the half empty bottle. “You drink that by yourself?”

“Yep,” Kit said, closing the door in Wymackʻs face. Turning around to go down the hallway to the bedroom to get the others up and moving. “Hurry up, Coach wants us out.” Kit said walking into the room to get clothes to get changed into.

Kit waited for Neil as he got dressed in the bathroom after him, Neil stopped next to Kit and looked at the glass bottle that he was holding. 

“Are you okay, Kit? You do know that I would never hurt you,” Neil said, he didnʻt really know what happened to his brother after the game was over but seeing the fear on his face after he tried to take his neck guard off of him. He never wanted to see that look again.

“Im fine, Neil. Just wasnʻt really in the right headspace after that last play,” Kit said, taking a swig and looking at the door. “I wonʻt let it happen again, now letʻs go before they have our heads for being late.”

Walking into the hallway, everyone was there waiting for the two brothers. Renee looked at the two of them and gave a small smile and wave, Wymack watched the two and then turned his attention to Andrewʻs group that just came out. Kit looked over Kevin and saw that he was wearing wrist braces, he knew that he should have tried to do better yesterday to help Kevin but he couldnʻt.

“How the hell did they wake you up?” Wymack said, pointing at Kevin.

“They didnʻt let me sleep.” Kevin sent a sour look at Andrew who just ignored it.

“Smart,” Wymack said before waving his team to the stairs. “Letʻs get going.”

Kit just followed Neil down the stairs and to the bus that was around back. He hadnʻt seen the bus yet because it was locked in a gated compound to prevent vandalism. It was painted to match the stadium, orange trim and paw prints against a white background. On the inside, instead of the traditional two rows, the bus had only one. The cushions were big enough to comfortably seat two athletes or let one curl up and nap. 

Andrew led his group up to the back of the bus while Abby took the first row. Dan and Matt went in the spot behind her, and Renee sat behind them alone. Kit watched as Neil left a seat between him and Renee before deciding to sit behind Neil. Tapping lightly on the bottle in his hand, he leaned his back against the window. Wymack got settled in the driverʻs seat and the bus came to life, and the dormitory slowly disappeared. Kit took a deep breath closing his eyes as he leaned against the back of the seat and fell asleep.

It was almost six when they reached Raleigh, North Carolina. Wymack stopped at the next fast food place he passed. Kit woke up to see Renee and Abby getting off the bus to get the teamʻs breakfast and coffee. Kit yawned as Wymack stood in the aisle to face his team. 

“All right,” he said, then promptly stopped what he was saying when he got a good look at the back of the bus. “Damn it all to hell. Hemmick! You were supposed to wake them up ten miles ago.”

“I donʻt want to die, Coach,” Nicky said.

Kit laughed a little as he rested his head back against the window again, he was grateful for the sleep that he got. Wymack stomped past him and down to the last row. Kit followed Wymack as he pulled out his wallet from his back pocket and threw it at Andrew. Judging by the resounding thud, Andrew woke up violently again.

Kit watched as Wymack demanded his wallet back before he turned to Kevin. Kevin was out cold against the window. Wymack put his foot up against the closest part of Kevin and started pushing and yelling at him to get up.

“Get your ass up and moving!”

Kevin's hand darted into view as he tried to shove Wymack away. Wymack grabbed his elbow and hauled Kevin out of his chair into the aisle. Before Kevin could fall over Wymack pushed him back, dropping him heavily onto his cushion. Kevin slumped against the back of his chair immediately, looking for all intents and purposes like he'd nod right back off. Wymack smacked the back of his head to wake him up. 

“I hate you,” Kevin said with feeling.

“Breaking news: I donʻt care, this is your idea. Hate yourself for this.”

Kit looked away from them and turned to Neil who was still watching them. “You have a good nap, Neil?” 

Neil looked down at Kit over the seat but nodded. “Wish that I didnʻt stay up so late last night, I donʻt know how you can drink that much.”

Kit chuckled and lifted the bottle up, giving his brother a shrug. “Itʻs something that brings me great peace of mind Neil, but honestly I donʻt know how I can either,” Kit shrugged as he saw Kevin start walking down the aisle, struggling to stay awake.

“Are you sure that you are okay, Kit? I was worried about you last night, Iʻd never seen you like that before,” Neil said in a hushed tone as Kevin made his way past them again.

Kit stayed quiet for a moment, he looked at the bottle again before turning his body to sit forward. “Iʻm fine Neil, really, I normally can deal with something like that before it gets bad. Last night it wasnʻt too bad. But like I said it wonʻt get to that again. Trust me Neil, Iʻm okay.”

There was a silence on the bus after the brothers stopped talking. 

“Kevin,” Andrew said, Kit turned around to Andrew.

Kevin was only halfway through his lap, but he pivoted at the sound of his name and went back. Wymack moved out of the way so Kevin could get to Andrew's seat. Kevin dug Andrew's medicine out of his pocket and handed the bottle over. He and Wymack watched as Andrew tipped a pill into his hand and swallowed it dry. Kit half-expected Andrew to give the bottle back, but Andrew shifted in his chair as he stuffed it in his own pocket. 

Weird, Kit thought, that Kevin would keep Andrewʻs medication on him at all. Kit didnʻt bother to want to know why, maybe Kevin just liked making sure that Andrew took his medication? Who knew.

Abby and Renee were soon back with bags of food and trays of drinks. Kit sat down his bottle of whisky and took the food that Renee offered him.

“Thanks, Renee,” He said as he took the coffee.

Renee just nodded and smiled as she moved back to her spot with Dan and Matt. Kit sat there slowly eating his sausage biscuit and drinking his coffee as he listened to the upperclassmen talking with so much excitement over getting to meet one of the highest rated talk show hosts in the nation.

It was fifteen more minutes until the two story building that housed Kathyʻs daily show was right in front of them. Kit didnʻt have too many fond memories at this building but at least he would be in the audience this time. Wymack soon came back into the bus with a parking ticket and a pile of guest badges. The gate squealed open and Wymack drove them to the employee parking lot.

Wymack was the first off, he stood at the door and handed out the guest badges to the Foxes as they passed him. Kit grabbed his badge and followed the upperclassmen in the general direction of where the entrance was. They were all halfway to the building when Kathy herself came out to the parking lot to greet them. Kit saw that she looked way more awake than Wymack and prayed that it was the makeup because it should be impossible to be that awake and happy in the morning

“Kevin,” Kathy said, reaching out for him. “Itʻs been so long. Iʻm so glad you could make it today.”

“Itʻs good to see you again,” Kevin said, and smiled as he took her hand. 

That smile was something that he was trained into, Kit knew it, but he also knew Kevinʻs real smile. It was something rare back when they were growing up but he had one. It wasnʻt like his public face, that he put on for interviewers and fans that would be better off not knowing what he was really like. Kevin is hard working, determined, arrogant and ruthless but he was like that because he was raised to be a world-class champion. 

Kathy turned her smile to the rest of the Foxes, and out of instinct with her, Kit smiled at her. Her eyes stopped on him for a moment before looking at the rest of the team. “You were amazing last night. Kevin, you really do have the magic touch. This team has been doing so much better since you transfered.”

“They were already on their way up,” Kevin said. It was the first positive thing Kevin had said about the Foxes. Usually Kevin only cared about their shortcomings. Kit knew how Kevin acted and he knew that Kevin wasnʻt lying. “They deserve their Class I status. This year will prove it.”

“Brilliant,” Kathy said, distracted. She just spotted Neil and Kit. Kit moved up next to his brother, his arms crossed loosely over his chest as she got closer to them. “Neil and Kit Josten, good morning. I suppose you both know the good news? As of eleven oʻclock last night, your names are the third and fourth highest search string for NCAA Exy strikers. That puts both of you right after Riko and Kevin. And Kit your name is also the second-highest search string for NCAA Exy Backliners. How does it feel?” 

Kit stood there for a moment and put on a smile. “Really? I didnʻt like that I would be that high for either position.”

The Foxes looked at Kit like he was insane, they have never seen him smile like that before. They thought that it was a little scary on how much he was starting to act like Kevin in this situation. Kevin was a little shocked at how nice Kit was being to Kathy even though he rightfully protested even coming here in the first place, and the fact that his smile seemed a little too familiar to him but he couldnʻt put his finger on it.

“You know, Kit. You remind me of someone, but I canʻt seem to put my finger on it…” Kathy said, taking a small step forward to Kit to try and get a better look at his face. She then turned to Kevin and asked, “Did you talk to them about it?”

“I didnʻt think that we needed to talk about it,” Kevin said.

“About what?” Neil asked.

“I want the two of you to come on my show this morning,” Kathy said.

Kit stood there for a moment, thinking that he didnʻt really hear the words that had come out of her mouth. “Iʻm sorry Kathy, I think I might have misheard you,” Kit said, his smile not wavering a bit but Neil could see that Kit heard her perfectly. “Did you say that you want my brother and I on your show?”

“Exactly what I said, everyone wants to know who you two are,” Kathy said, spreading her hands in a grand gesture. “You're both a mystery addition to the Fox line, a pair of rookies out of a tiny town in Arizona. Coach Hernandez says that the two of you picked Exy up in a year by reading a guidebook and showing up to practice. Kevin says you're both going to sign with the US Court after graduation. Such ambitions and dreams from such a humble beginning, don't you think? It's time for your debut.”

“No,” Neil said, as if reading Kitʻs mind. Neil looked over at Kevin and shook his head. “No, we arenʻt interested.”

“No, Kathy, we arenʻt going to do it,” Kit said, dropping his smile as he saw Kathy move closer, reaching out to put a hand on their shoulders, but both Neil and Kit stepped back. Kit could see Abby gesturing at them to watch their manners. Both brothers ignored her.

“Don't be shy,” Kathy said. “If you can play in front of sixty-five thousand fans in a game ESPN2 picked up and broadcast live, you can sit on my stage for ten minutes. This is the easy part. I'm just going to ask a couple questions about why you started playing and where you hope to go from here, that sort of thing. It's all written down so you can think of your responses before you step onto the stage. Your fans deserve answers from you two.”

“Again, Kathy, itʻs a no from us,” Kit said, he reached out to grab his brotherʻs arm, there was no way that he was going to let his brother go on national tv.

“You're not looking at the big picture. This year can make the world for you. If you want to get anywhere, you need our help. Everything has fallen so perfectly into place for you. Don't let it collapse so early in the game or you'll regret it the rest of your life. Kevin, you understand, don't you?” Kathy said, getting impatient with the twins.

“Theyʻll do it,” Kevin said. 

“Itʻs not your decision,” Neil said in venomous French.

“Like hell we are Kevin,” Kit spat out in French as well as his smile returned to his face.

Neither Kit nor Neil realized what theyʻd done until they felt Wymackʻs piercing stare on both of them. Andrewʻs lot knew that they spoke French. Explaining it to the upperclassmen will be easy, but Wymack, like Andrew knew that they both spoke fluent German. 

Kevinʻs smile never faltered, but his French response was cold. “You two are being idiots.” 

“We aren't going on Kevin. We can't be on TV.” Kit said.

“You both will do this today, or I will wash my hands of both of you on the court and you can struggle your ways through mediocrity alone. You can return your court keys to Coach when we get back to campus. Neither of you will need them anymore."

Kit froze up for a second, it wouldnʻt be fair on Neil if that happened. “Thatʻs not fair Kevin.”

“Did you both promise me that you would try or not?”

Kitʻs hand tightened around his brotherʻs arm, Neil could feel him getting mad. “Itʻs not fair Kevin, we didnʻt sign-”

“Did you or didnʻt you?”

Both Kit and Neil didnʻt say a word after that. Kit knew that going on live TV, without a helmet over their faces, something that would give the world a proper look at their faces was something that made Kit feel sick. But not as sick as the thought of being cut off from the court. The brothers only had until mid-October to play with the Foxes, and then they would both lose Exy forever.

Kevin nodded to Kathy and switched back to English. “Itʻs settled.”

Kathy smiled and motioned for them to follow her inside the building. Kevin caught Kitʻs shoulder and pushed him forward after her. As soon as his hand made contact with his shoulder Kit twisted out of his grip and smacked his hand away. As Kevin tried to make another grab at Kit, Matt reached over him and shoved Kevin back. Abby hissed at them to cut it out and behave but Kevin and Matt were too busy staring each other down. 

With Kevin pushed back a step, Andrew was now in Neil and Kit's line of sight. Andrew tipped his head to one side as he considered the brothers, and they both made the mistake of looking at him. Apparently Andrew's drugs were already kicking in, because Andrew's smile was bright and mocking. “You're both so stupid.”

Kit just huffed at the comment and dragged his brother by the arm after Kathy. 

Dan caught up with them in a couple of strides. “Neil? Kit? You know that either of you have to do this.”

Neither Kit nor Neil replied, both just shaking their heads, too angry to talk.

Kit followed where he was told to go, his show smile made itʻs way back onto his face as he was led with Kevin and Neil down to one of the dressing rooms by an aid. They went down a hall and around a corner to a dressing room. Their escort took a couple quick measurements of their bodies and disappeared.

Kit sighed looking around the dressing room, he had been here before, the echoes of Riko yelling at him and Kevin standing away from them filled his mind as he sat down at one of the stools. One whole wall was a vanity lined with mirrors and lights. Six stools were pulled up against the counter. An empty clothes rack stood in the middle of the room. Kit lifted up one leg and folded his arms over his chest, trying to squeeze himself hard enough to drive his scars under his skin, he knew that he was going to have to change in here.

The aide returned to drop off clothes, promised the makeup artists would be by in ten minutes, and left again. Kevin's smile disappeared the second the door closed. He thumbed through the hangers and tossed an outfit at Neil and then tossed one at Kit.

Kit watched as it landed in his lap before looking at Kevin who was pointed at the two of them. “Get changed,” he said. Neither Kit nor Neil made any move to obey him, he said, “Iʻm more worried about the two of you making a disaster of this appearance than I am about your scars. Get over yourselves.”

Kit sat there for a moment, glaring at Kevin before looking at the clothes that he threw at him. Kit sighed and got up moving to the back corner of the room and turned his back on them, he took off his jacket and pulled the new shirt over the one that he was wearing. Taking off the bottom layer was a struggle but this was a way that he could keep his scars to himself. Once the bottom layer was off Kit grabbed his jacket on again, changing into the pants were the easy part but Kit still felt uneasy changing out in a room with people in it. 

“Both of you stop acting like children,” Kevin said, watching Kit closely as he sat down at one of the stools and as Neil stood as far away from Kevin as he could.

“We shouldnʻt be doing this, Kevin.” Neil said, watching his brother.

“Yes, you should, and you are going to make a good impression somehow.” Kevin checked his reflection and tugged gently on his shirt sleeves. After a moment's consideration he undid his braces and set them aside. “Follow Kathy's leads, but don't let her dominate. This show is about us, not her. She is the enabler, not the star.”

It took Kit a moment before standing up again moving to the rack of clothes that was in the room. Going through them he found a suit jacket and smiled, Kevin and Neil were having a conversation about lying but Kit just ignored them. He didnʻt need to listen to their little argument about what Kevin said about their talents because he knew what Kevin said was true. Kit took off his jacket and put on the suit one, he took a deep breath in as he turned to Neil.

Kit moved back over to his stool and sat down to hear the last part of their conversation. 

“When you know what someone wants, it's easy to manipulate them. Case in point," Kevin said, gesturing from Neil to Kit to the room they were standing in.

“I was under the impression Andrew wants nothing,” Kit butted in, he really did think that Andrew didnʻt want anything but he could see that Andrew and Kevinʻs friendship was a little different to most.

The three of them waited in silence until the makeup artists arrived. Kit tried his best not to flinch away when they did their work but he outright refused to let them touch his hair, but they told him to put it back and he complied. When the makeup artists said that the three of them were ready, they were escorted to a lounge to wait. Kit sat down, figiting with his jacket sleeves, he had sat in this room a few times. Neil sat down next to Kit and handed him the sheet with questions that Kathy would be asking them.

When Kevin was collected Kit turned to Neil. “Neil, I donʻt have a good feeling about this…” Kit trailed off as he put the paper down, his hands were shaking too much. “I really donʻt want to do this…”

In the background the show was starting, the TV was loud enough to be heard, Neil looked away from it to look at his brother. Kit was shaking. Neil put his hand out for his brother to take. “I know, Kit, I donʻt want to do this either,” Neil started, Kit reached out and grabbed his hand tightly. They stayed quiet for a minute, Kevin just walked on. 

“I know that this is harder for you than me, but Kit, you need to keep it together.” Neil spoke, feeling the tightness of his brother's grip. “Kit, Iʻm here with you now, there is no Riko. Iʻll be next to you the whole time okay?”

Kit just nodded as he stared off at the TV, he tried getting his breath intol as he listened to Kathy and Kevin talk about them. By the time an aide came to collect them Kit managed to get his breathing right, and was able to plaster a smile on his face. “One minute. Itʻs time to move.” The aide said motioning them out of the room.

Kit followed behind Neil, the aide leading them out of the wings of the stage. A woman was waiting for them, giving them a quick once over, making sure that they looked good enough to go on before sending Kathy an okay.

“Why donʻt we all get another look at them?” Kathy said. “Letʻs see the men who have replaced Riko Moriyama at Kevinʻs sides. Introducing Neil and Kit Josten, the newest Palmetto Foxes!”

Neil walked out first, Kit followed behind and smiled at the cameras as he crossed over the stage to Kathyʻs desk. She stood up to shake their hands, Neil first then Kit, she motioned for the seat next to Kevin. They sat down at the same time. Kathy poured them water and handed the glasses to Kevin who handed them to the two brothers.

“Isnʻt this an interesting picture?” Kathy asked the audience. “Kevin is paired again.”

She propped her chin on her hand and leaned over her desk to smile at Neil and Kit. “Iʻm not exaggerating when I say that the two of you are the talk of the nation. You are both amateurs who caught the eye of a nation champion. This is the kind of thing that only happens in fairy tales, donʻt you two think? How does it feel?” 

“Undeserved,” Neil said, Kit gave a nod.

“We both gave Millport everything we had because it was our only chance. Kevin was the last person we expected to see in Arizona.” Kit said, his smile never leaving his face, it was a trained look.

“Lucky for us that he found both of you,” Kathy said. “You both have a natural talent for the game. Itʻs a pity that the two of you started so late, imagine where you would be now if you started years ago. Maybe you would have been snatched up by Edgar Allan or USC, if Kevin is right about your potential.” 

Kathy took a moment before looking directly at Kit. “I can clearly see why Kevin picked you, you have a large amount of talent to be able to play in two different positions.”

Kit sat there but a moment later shook his head. “Iʻm a fast learner, in Millport they didnʻt need any more subs but I was called on for a few positions when people got injured or were sick. I just like the sport so Iʻll play in whatever position Wymack decides to put me in for that half.” 

“I read a few articles earlier,” Kathy said with a smile. “They were comparing you to the late Nicholas Wesninski, because of your playing style, how you donʻt have a set position on the team and the fact that you look a bit like what he should look like now.”

Kit froze up a little at the name but relaxed and smiled at Kathy. “You know, Kathy, I used to get that a lot growing up that I looked like him. But I donʻt think that itʻs fair to compare me to someone who had such a great talent. I also think that itʻs a little disrespectful for them to write those, just because I play with a similar style to him and look kinda similar to him.” 

Kathy sat there for a moment. “Of course I see why you wouldnʻt want to be compared to him,” She looked back at Kevin to move on. “It's no secret there was hostility between you and the Foxes' strikers last year. Last night made it obvious there are still problems to work through with Seth. That doesn't seem to be the case with you three.” 

Kit slid a look to Kevin who didnʻt bother to correct her. “Seth is graduating in May, so there isnʻt really a need to train his style to match mine. Kit and Neil on the other hand, are both just starting out. We have all the time in the world to train.”

Kathy pounced on that wording as soon as it left Kevinʻs mouth. “That implies that you see this as a permanent gig. Do you have any plans to return to Edgar Allan? Does it depend on how well you adjust to playing right-handed or do you intend on graduating from Palmetto State?”

Kevin stayed silent for a moment before talking. “I would like to stay as long as Coach Wymack will have me.” 

Kit raised an eyebrow at the vague response before a memory clicked and his head snapped towards Kevin.

“Ahh, the Ravens must be sad to hear that,” Kathy said. “I can only imagine how much Riko misses you.ʻ 

Kit grabbed onto Neilʻs leg upon hearing Rikoʻs name, no matter how many times he heard it he always froze up a bit.

"We will see each other again this fall.” 

“Indeed you will. They're in your district now,” Kathy said. “Why the major change?” 

“I don't presume to understand Coach Moriyama's motivations.”

"You mean they didn't tell you?” Kathy's surprise looked genuine. 

“We are all very busy. It is difficult to keep in touch.” 

“Well then.” Kathy recovered with a bright smile. “Have I got a treat for you!”

Music blared from the speakers, a dark melody with heavy drums. Kit tightened his grip on Neilʻs thigh trying to steady himself, hearing the crowd get to itʻs feet and start chanting in unison: “King! King! King!” 

Kit felt his stomach drop, he knew what was happening. He found the Foxes in the crowd, they were unmoving and sitting blank-faced with shock. He made eye contact with Renee, who spotted Kitʻs fear straight away before he looked away. His body was shaking as he turned his attention to the wings of the stage. The man who stepped onto the stage wore the same outfit Kevin did, but he was all black.

Kit watched Riko closely, praying that this was all just a dream but the dread that he brought with him was too real. He was there, it had been four years since he had seen Riko in person and he didnʻt want to ever see him again.

For Kevin it had been nine months since he had been in the same room as Riko Moriyama. Nine months since Riko destroyed Kevinʻs hand, and now they are reunited on live TV. The audience cheered their hearts out at what Kathy had done. Their cheering was loud enough to cover Kitʻs and Kevinʻs soft voices.

Their words sounded like a desperate prayer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> I might not post the next chapter for a little bit, still working on another thing and until I finish the chapter I am currently writing I donʻt wanna post the next one.
> 
> But I do hope that you all like this chapter, if there is anything that I could change about the story please do tell me!


	13. Chapter 13: The King is back.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neil, Kit and Kevin get to see Riko again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, my wifi decided to give up on me today, so Iʻm going to post this and leave the last chapter until that all gets sorted out.
> 
> I hope that you like it! (And shitty wifi is on living in australia)

Kit couldnʻt believe this, Riko was here, standing in front of Kevin. His smile was something that haunted him, but looking at his face right now, all they could see was the murder in his eyes.

Kit felt whatever anger he had towards Kevin for forcing him and his brother to come onto this show disappear. He couldnʻt be mad when Riko was standing right there in front of them, he had to look after his brother. There was no way that Kit was going to get out of this situation without getting recognized by one of the people that ruined his life.

Only after the crowd quietened down did Riko speak. “Kevin. Itʻs been too long.” 

A loud scuffle and crash in the audience made Kit tear his eyes away from Riko. Renee was sitting sideways on Andrewʻs lap, one foot braced against the ground to keep him from shoving her off. She had a hand over his mouth as they both stared up at the stage. Matt had one of Andrew's wrists in both hands. Wymack had the other. The looks on the Foxes' faces ranged from horror to fury.

Riko moving made Kit forget all about his team and went back to glaring down Riko. Riko just ignored the Josten twins and held his hand out to Kevin in invitation. Kevin stared at his hand for a couple of seconds, then slipped his hand into Rikoʻs and let Riko pull him to his feet. Kit looked at Neil and gave a tighter squeeze to his leg, Neil looked at him for a moment, giving him a sympathetic look. 

“I think you've shrunk since I last saw you. Don't they feed you down here? I always heard southern food is heavy.” Riko said, looking at Kevin from an arms length away.

“I run it off on the court, I guess.” 

“What a miracle.”

There was an edge in his voice, but Kathy smiled and made a gesture between them. "It truly is a miracle. Take a good look, everyone. Your golden pair is back, but for the first time ever, they're rivals. Riko, Kevin, we thank you from the bottoms of our hearts for tolerating our incessant fanaticism.” 

Kit watched Riko sit down on the other chair, Neil put his hand on top of his brotherʻs as Kevin sat down thigh pressed against his hard up against his. Neil felt both of them trembling, Kit was keeping his grip tight on Neil. 

“I swear if Riko starts putting shit on Kevin I am done…” Kit muttered in Spanish as he watched Kathy start asking questions to Kevin and Riko about why they hadnʻt talked to each other for so long and how it seemed impossible for them to not talk.

“A year ago it would have been impossible,” Riko said, “but you have to understand how emotionally crushing December was. The injury was Kevin's to bear, but we all suffered for it. Some of us couldn't handle the reality of what that accident meant, myself included. Kevin and I grew up at Evermore. We built our lives around that team and our pair work. I couldn't believe we'd lost it. I couldn't accept that our dreams had collapsed. Neither could he, so we withdrew from each other. It hit us as bad as it did when Nicholas went missing, we had to rework ourselves and this is very similar to how his disappearance affected us.” 

Kit froze up when he heard Riko mention him, Neil felt his brother freeze as Kevin went on his little speech about how they were so dedicated to Exy that they didnʻt want to admit that they had limits. Neil gripped onto Kitʻs hand tightly, he knew that Kit was getting mad at how Riko was talking about Kevin.

“The worst was having everything and losing it,” Riko said. “We signed with Court last year, which meant we had only one dream left to achieve: to play together with Court at the summer Olympics. We knew it was coming, that it was just a matter of time, that a lifetime's worth of effort and sacrifice was about to pay off. Then Kevin broke his hand.”

The Foxes could see Kit glaring at Riko, they knew that if looks could kill, Riko would be dead a hundred times over.

“Everything changed,” Kevin said, so low no one would hear him if not for the microphone he was wearing. “We weren't ready to acknowledge that. It was easier to just walk away. Unwise,” he allowed, glancing at Riko, “but easier.”

Kit watched as Kathy turned to Riko, getting the hint that Kevin wasnʻt comfortable with where the conversation was going, trying to give Kevin time to pull himself back together. “But look at him now. Isn't it amazing how far he's come this year?”

“I'm not sure it is,” Riko said, "but I'm saying that as his brother, as his best friend. You saw him last night, Kathy. I'm worried his wishful thinking and obsession will lead him to injure himself again. Can he recover a second time, emotionally or mentally?”

Kit could hear that concerned tone that Riko was using, but Kit could feel the knife going deeper into Kevinʻs chest and his own. His words to most people sounded like he actually cared about Kevin but every word he said was meant to hurt him, and it was working. Kit had enough of it and let go of his brotherʻs hand and put his in his lap. Kitʻs temper was getting the better of him.

“I think that he did amazing last night, Riko, I think that you should give him more credit,” Kit said in a dangerously sweet tone and smile. “You really should be backing him up and cheering him on, thatʻs what family and friends are meant to do right? Even though you abandoned him last winter, believing in him now would be the least that you could do.”

A couple people in the audience booed at that little outburst but Matt and Dan cheered at Kit to help balance it out. Kit froze up a little realizing that he just said those words out loud, gripping onto his knee tightly as he kept his smile on his face trying to hide his panic. 

“Ah, forgive my bad manners,” Kathy said to Neil and Kit. “I didnʻt forget you two over there, I just got a little distracted. Letʻs get the three of you introduced, though Iʻm not sure either one of you needs an introduction at this point. Riko, Neil and Kit. Neil and Kit, Riko. Kevinʻs past and present, or should I say past and futures?”

Riko finally looked at Kit and Neil, Kit saw the same murderous look in his eyes that he had all of those years ago. “To address that accusation of yours: mine and Kevinʻs relationship is unique, and I do not expect either of you to understand it. Do not impress us on your petty ideas of friendship.”

Neil spared a glance at Kit before he started talking. “Was unique,” Neil said, and emphasized again, “Was. Iʻm pretty sure your relationship died when he couldnʻt keep up with your team anymore.” 

Kit looked at Neil in shock but knew what he was saying was right, Kit moved his hand away from his knee and grabbed Neilʻs thigh in a warning. Kit knew that he could stand up for himself but he had the underlying fear that kept him from moving on from a lot of things. 

“Kevin chose to leave Edgar Allan,” Riko said. “We mourned his absence but were glad to hear he found a coaching position.”

“But youʻre not happy that heʻs playing again, right?” Neil said. “Isnʻt that why you transfered down south isnʻt it? You donʻt think that Kevin should be on the court again, so youʻll cut him off at the pass.” 

Kit gave a strong squeeze to Neil to get him to stop talking, he was finally going to defend his friend, he couldnʻt let his brother get too much in Rikoʻs spotlight. He didnʻt want Neil to be first shot in the firing squad, he had to have Rikoʻs attention on him. “You want to destroy Kevinʻs chance at making a comeback and make him sit back and watch the Ravens succeed yet again. You want to rub it in his face, showing everything that he lost, and from where weʻre sitting, it looks like you enjoy ruining someoneʻs life.” Kit finished with a shit eating grin, Neil was in shock that his brother was talking back to Riko, he never thought that his brother had it in him to start going off like that.

“I will ask the both of you only once to tone down that animosity.” 

“We canʻt,” Neil and Kit said with a shrug. “We have a bit of an attitude problem.” 

Rikoʻs smile at them was all ice. “A bit?”

Kathy stepped in, having a strong feeling that if she kept it going it would get nasty. “Neil does bring up a valid point that I would like to discuss. This sudden district change is an unprecedented move. And for it to be from Edgar Allan makes it more surprising. No one has given a satisfactory reason as to why you made the move, but I donʻt think that Neil is too far off in thinking that you transferred because of Kevin.”

“Kevin plays only a small role in our decision,” Riko said, “and not for the reasons these children claim. It was not a decision made lightly on our part and we've taken an unfair bit of criticism for it. The north says we are transferring to keep our ranking secure, as if they ever had a chance of unseating us, and the south cries unfair at having to contend with us. We are the nation's best team, after all, and the southeastern district is… Well, it's subpar, to be polite. To be honest, its teams are dreadful. We hope our transfer changes that. We're here to inspire the south.”

Kit scoffed, hearing that. His hand was still clutching his brotherʻs leg. “So, Riko, you think that your team is going to bring up and,” Kit paused for a moment before making a hand movement. “Inspire us to be better than subpar, how do you expect teams to get better if they can't win against you? Itʻs just going to make them worse because they donʻt see what the point is in trying if they are going to get beaten down every time they try.” 

Riko scoffed a little bit glaring over at Kit. “Yes, we are here to help inspire everyone down here to do better, if they do not go up against the best, how can they improve? But this whole thing would be easier if Kevin plays along.”

“How so?” Kathy said before either of the Josten brothers could open their mouths.

“Kevin cannot and will not play for us again. He knows this; this is why he did not return to us this spring. Our affection for him doesn't forgive his new inadequacies on the court, and he respects the Ravens too much to drag us down. That doesn't mean Evermore isn't his home. His work with the Foxes this spring proved we can find a place for him on our staff. We'd like him to return to us as one of our coaches.”

“Sounds like a difficult choice, Kevin,” Kathy said. “I have to admit both ideas fascinate me. As much as I love watching the Foxes improve, it breaks my heart to see you away from Edgar Allan.”

“You wouldn't honestly have him go back, would you?" Neil asked. "I can't believe it.”

“This has nothing to do with you,” Riko said and then pointed at Kit. “Either of you.”

“Stop being so selfish,” Kit and Neil said at the same time but Neil could tell by the grip on his leg that he should leave this part to his brother.

Kathy gasped at the two of them and Kevin pinched Neilʻs arm in a warning but he couldnʻt do anything to Kit. 

“You know better than anyone that Kevinʻs dream has always been to be the best on the court, what makes you think that you have the right to snatch that away from him? Why would you ask him to settle for something less then he was promised with Edgar Allan? The Foxes are giving him another chance to play and become the best, to rise above the challenges that he has face to get there. And youʻre sitting here and telling him that you and your team would rather him be on the sidelines, as long as heʻs by your side right? Kevin has no reason to transfer back when he has a team here that would push him to achieve the best that he can.” Kit spoke with a sophistication and experience that no one realized that he had, and a smile that never seemed to leave his face. The Foxes could tell that he was having a little too much fun with it.

“The Foxes is a waste of his talents.” 

“Not as much as Edgar Allan was,” Neil said. Someone laughed in the audience, seemingly entertained by Kathyʻs mouthy guests. “You guys are the first ranked team? Congratulations and big deal. Staying and maintaining the top position is far easier than starting in the gutters. Kevin is doing that right now. Heʻs facing entirely new teams and learning how to play with his less dominant hand. When he masters it, and he will, heʻll be better than you could have ever made him.” 

“Would you like to know why Riko?” Kit said, his smile looking deadlier than before but his leg clearly showed that he was worried. “Itʻs not just his natural talent. Itʻs because he is not with a team that is willing to learn and adapt. There are only eleven Foxes this year. Meaning one sub for each position and wherever the hell I end up. Think about it Riko, last night we played one of the biggest teams in the district. They have twenty-seven people in their line up. Meaning that they can burn through and sub out players when they get a little puffed out. We donʻt have that, we actually have to rely on each other to hold our ground on our own.”

“You didnʻt hold your ground,” Riko said over the Foxesʻ cheer and applause. “You lost. Your school is the laughingstock of the NCAA. Youʻre a team with no concept of teamwork.” 

“Lucky for you,” Neil said. “If we were a united force you wouldnʻt stand a chance against us.”

“You cannot last and your unfounded arrogance is offensive to everyone who actually earned a spot in Class I. Everyone knows the only reason Palmetto qualified for this division is because of your coach.”

“Funny, I'm pretty sure that's how Edgar Allan qualified.” 

“Weʻve earned your prestige a thousand times over. Youʻve earned nothing but pity and scorn, neither of which should be tolerated in a sport. Someone as inexperienced as you two, have no right to have an opinion on the matter.”

Kit took a deep breath in, his body was shaking but he knew that Riko couldnʻt hurt him here. Not with the press, not with the Foxes right there. “Iʻll give you one more, Riko,” Kit said trying to steady his breathing before smiling at Riko. “I do not think that you are telling Kevin to sit out because you are worried about his health or his metal well being. I think that you know this season is going to be a disaster for your reputation and Edgar Allanʻs. You and Kevin have always played in each otherʻs shadows, anyone with eyes can see it. Youʻve always come as a pair, well a trio up until four years ago. Now you have to play Kevin as your rival, for the first time, on the court and people are finally going to see which one of you is better. They are going to see how premature your so-called ʻperfect courtʻ was.” Kit said motioning to his left cheek, before breathing in again. “You are now down two members of what you wanted to make the perfect court, and most importantly of all. I think that you are scared, you are scared of people realizing that Kevin is the better player.”

Rikoʻs smile could freeze over hell, Kit had seen it many times before and he couldʻt help but freeze up a little at it but his smile never faltered. “I am not scared of Kevin. I know him.”

“Youʻre going to eat your words,” Neil said. “Youʻre going to choke on them.” 

“That sounds like a challenge,” Kathy cut in with a quick look between them. “You've got seven weeks until your match and I, for one, am already counting down the seconds. There's so much to look forward to this year, but one question can't wait: orange or black, Kevin? What color is your future?”

Kevin glared at Kit as he grabbed Neilʻs arm, squeezing it tightly, cutting off circulation all the way to Neilʻs fingertips. “I already said it,” Kevin said without looking at Riko. “I would like to stay at Palmetto as long as Wymack would have me.”

The Foxes cheered at that. They broke the tension that had seeped out from the strikers, the rest of the audience were now cheering along with them. Kathy didnʻt even bother to try and calm them down but pointed at the cameras. She could barely be heard when she announced the end of the Exy segment and the cut to the commercials. A light at the foot of the stage went dark, telling everyone on the stage that they were off the air. Kathy covered the microphone on her shirt collar and looked at her guest. 

“You boys made my day,” She said with the biggest smile that Kit had ever seen from her. The four of them got to their feet and Kathy shook their hands. “Keep the clothes. Thereʻre refreshments in the back and weʻve got seats up if you want to watch the rest of the show.”

“Thank you,” Kevin said.

Kit had no intention of staying around here any longer. He looked over the crowd and spotted Wymack, who sliced a hand across this throat and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. Kit knew that it meant that they were dead when they left. But he was happy that he wasnʻt going to be killed by Riko. Kit handed his long forgotten glass to Neil who put it on Kathyʻs desk. Kit looked at Kevin and then at Riko, putting himself between Kevin, Neil and Riko he gave Kevin a push to the wings, wanting to get out of there as quick as he could. 

Riko followed them off the stage, Kit could feel his glare on the back of his head. He hoped that he would behave until they were able to escape him. The aides who had been waiting in the wings rushed past them to help check on Kathy and adjust the stage during the commercial break. Kit prayed that one would stay around long enough to talk to him or just to distract him all together.

Kit didnʻt like the fact that Neil was standing behind him, Kit turned to Neil to pull him in front of him one to see Riko grabbing Neil and throwing him up against the wall. Kitʻs face went deadly blank as he reached out and grabbed the back of Rikoʻs collar, twisting it tightly and ripping him away from Neil. Riko spun around and grabbed Kit by his throat and shoved him violently against the wall next to Neil.

“Donʻt touch my brother, Riko.” Kit managed to spit out, a sick smile still on his face, as Riko shoved his fingers into the hollow of Kitʻs throat.

“I do not approve of this one Kevin, either of them,” Riko said. “You should get rid of them as soon as possible.”

“You saw our game last night,” Kevin said quietly. “They both have great potential.”

“Potential.” Riko slammed Kit into the wall one more before letting him go, Kit fell to his knees trying to get air back into his lungs, and Neil was down by his side helping him stand up. “You said that goalkeeper had potential and then wrote him off as useless when I offered him to you. Youʻll get sick of these two just as quick. Believe me.” 

Kit held on to Neil tightly, trying to not feel like his throat was on fire. He pushed Neil behind him. 

“You are going to ruin your life even more Kevin. Your little pets here are going to drag you down.” Riko spat out in Japanese.

Kevin flinched back and offered a weak response in Japanese, “Thatʻs not true.”

Riko stabbed a finger at Kevin in an angry accusation. “You donʻt know what is good for you Kevin, these idiots will be the reason that you fall, the reason you have to end your so called career now. You know how this is going to end, with you off the court forever-” 

Kit watched on in horror to what Riko was saying -more like yelling- he saw Kevin start to wilt under the weight of his ownerʻs fury. Kit felt Neil move forward behind him and reach out towards Riko, hauling him back into Kit.

“Leave him alone.”

A black look twisted Riko's expression into something ugly and unrecognizable. He reached for Neil, but Kevin caught his arm to stop him. Riko slammed his elbow back into Kevin's face without missing a beat. Kit kissed any of his survival instincts goodbye and ripped Riko away from Kevin, earning him a punch to the face. Kit stumbled back into Neil, who caught his brother stumbling back a little as well. Andrew appeared in front of the two. 

“Riko,” Andrew said, spreading his arms out wide like he intended to hug Riko hello. “Itʻs been a while.”

Riko jerked back in surprise, he tried to school his face into something more civil before he realized who joined them, and just gave up.

“We were just talking about you,” Riko said.

“With your fists, it seems,” Andrew said, leaning forward a little. “Donʻt touch my things Riko. I donʻt do sharing.”

Andrew reached back without looking back and pushed at Kitʻs shoulder. Neil took the hint and grabbed his brother and skirted around Andrew and Riko. Kit half expected Riko to stop them but he was fully focused on Andrew. Neil grabbed Kevinʻs arm along the way and started looking for an exit. The three of them were almost out when the Foxes caught up with them. Abby jogged up to them for the last couple of steps to Kevin and crushed him in a fierce embrace.

Kit stayed leaning on Neil, his body was shaking, he could feel his throat and eye bruising. But they didnʻt matter because Neil wasnʻt hurt badly. The rest of the Foxes stayed back a little watching as Neil lifted his brotherʻs chin to have a better look at the hand marks that were on his neck.

Wymack looked at the two brothers, he saw Neil do this after Andrew choked Kit but Kit looked a little more shaken up by Riko doing it. “Are the two of you seriously retarded or something? You both would have been safer staying back at Palmetto.”

Kit finally had enough of his brother touching him, pushing his hand away and shaking his head telling him no more. 

“Leave them alone, David,” Abby said, muffled in Kevinʻs shoulder.

“When I said Abby and I would look out for the two of you, I didnʻt mean that you had permission to pick a fight with Riko on national television,” Wymack said. “Should I have spelt it out to you beforehand?”

“Should have, or maybe you should have stepped in when Kevin wanted us on the show in the first place,” Kit muttered, not loud enough for Wymack to hear but Neil could, causing his brother to scoff in agreement.

“Itʻs fine, Coach,” Andrew said, finally catching up to them. He ran his fingers across Kitʻs back on his way past him and Neil. Kit didnʻt move or flinch to Neilʻs surprise. They watched as Andrew pressed a hand to Abbyʻs arm in a silent demand for her to back off Kevin. “Kevin, weʻre going. Right now, okay?”

Kit watched as Kevin let go of Abby, Andrew kept his hand on Kevinʻs lower back to guide him out the door and into the parking lot.

“Coach may say you two are stupid, but I have to say you both have balls of steel. I didnʻt think that either of you have it in you, especially you Kit, you sounded like you have some professional writer type that up for you.” Matt said, looking over the two brothers, trying to see what he missed in the two of them over the summer. “I thought that you were both the quiet type.”

“If Neil and Kit were quiet, Andrew wouldn't have taken them to Columbia,” Renee said. 

“True,” Matt agreed.

When Neil and Kit looked between them, Renee smiled and said, “Andrew's welcome parties are his way of sizing up and eliminating threats. Not everyone gets invited.”

“You went,” Neil said, not believing it but knowing somehow he was right. 

“The three of us were,” Renee said, gesturing at Matt and Dan. “No one else was until you two.” 

Kit looked at Renee and nodded a little bit, Renee could see that Kit was overly shaken up about what happened, almost as badly as Kevin. Kit turned away from them, grabbing Neilʻs hand and taking him to the bus, ignoring Wymack on his way past.

They caught up with Andrewʻs group at the bus. Wymack unlocked the door to let them all on, and got them on the road as quickly as he could.

Kit grabbed the half empty bottle of whisky that he had left on his seat and with shaky hands, walked up to the back of the bus. He could feel the other Foxesʻ eyes on him but he knew that Kevin needed this. 

“Here,” Kit said, holding it out to Kevin. Kevin looked at it for a moment before taking it and opening it. 

Kit just nodded and walked back to his seat behind Neil, stretching out on his seat. Renee came and sat behind him, checking on him every now and then. Kit was a shaking mess, everytime he closed his eyes he could see Rikoʻs face, looking at him like he was a punching bag.

Kit sat up, getting onto his knees to look over the seat at Renee. He needed to try and get his mind off of Riko and everything that happened that morning. “Morninʻ Renee,”

The two spent the rest of the ride back to campus talking about what they would do if a zombie virus started while they were on campus. Renee was relieved to see that Kit was talking even though she saw him start to space out every now and then. 

Pulling up to Palmetto State again was something that Kit didnʻt think that he would be so relieved to see. Wymack let the bus idle out back of Fox Tower and watched his team climb out. He said nothing until Andrew approached, then put a hand in Andrew's path. 

“Be smart.”

Andrew flapped a hand at Wymack. “I know, I know.”

Kit didn't know if Wymack actually trusted Andrew, but Wymack nodded and dropped his hand. Andrew took the stairs down and didn't slow on his way to the dorm. Wymack didn't leave until they were all inside. They took the stairs to the third floor, and Dan stopped outside Andrew's room.

Kit stayed standing back by Renee and Neil, his hand was rubbing his bruising throat, it was hurting a lot more now. “Neil, I need some ice.” Kit said softly as Matt called Andrew an asshole. Neil just nodded at his brotherʻs request.

“Theyʻre upset,” Renee said. “They couldnʻt help him today.”

“They didnʻt have to,” Matt said. “Neil and Kit did it for them.” 

They went to the men's suite and found Seth and Allison tangled together on the couch. They were watching a movie, dressed but just barely. Neither seemed embarrassed about being walked in on. The upperclassmen didn't bat an eye, as if this was a normal sight around these parts, but Kit just rolled his eyes and went in search of some ice with Neil following him. The most Allison did to cover up was to put one of the couch pillows on her lap over her pink thong.

“They look fancy,” she said, pointing at Kit and Neil who were pulling an ice pack out of the freezer, and once Kit came into her view again she raised an eyebrow. “What happened to you?” 

“They were surprise guests on Kathyʻs show,” Dan started before Kit cut in.

“And she thought that it would be a brilliant fucking idea to have king asshole on it,” Kit said, putting the ice pack around his neck as the upperclassmen turned to him, they hadnʻt heard him talk since he was on the talk show.

“Wait what?” 

“Kathy brought Riko onto the show, sitting him seven feet away from Kevin and asked them why they split up,” Dan said.

Seth sat up straighter and smiled looking at Dan. “Wait, really? Did he freak? I bet he freaked. I should have gone.”

“Shut up Seth. This isnʻt some fucking joke,” Kit said, Neil looked at Kit with worry, he knew how snappy his brother got when he was in this kind of mood.

“He held it together after Neil told off Riko and Kit tore him a new one,” Matt said. “These kidʻs got serious mouths on them. Neil made Riko look like the asshole that he is and that he sells out friends on a daily and Kit came in talking like he had the whole thing scripted out and just tore Riko a new one. You really should borrow the tape from us later and watch it.” 

Seth looked dubious. Allison arched an eyebrow at Neil and Kit before asking, “Whatʻd the monster think?”

“He was drugged to high heaven,” Dan said. “Abby made sure he dosed up on the way back, but I recommend avoiding him the rest of the weekend.”

As soon as Dan finished talking there was a knock on the door, Kit walked over and opened it. Andrew was standing there. Kit raised an eyebrow before the front of his jacket was pulled out of the door and into the hallway, Kit dropped his ice pack on the floor. Andrew shut the door behind Kit and dragged him down to the monsterʻs room. The upperclassmen were heard yelling out after Kit but when Andrew slammed the door to his dorm shut they stopped. Nicky watched as Andrew dragged Kit down into the bedroom, he didnʻt know how that would end but he had Kevin to worry about.

Once Andrew closed the bedroom door behind him, he turned to Kit. “Oh, Kit, where to start with someone as unpredictable and unreal as you?” Andrew said. “Last time we spoke you told me that you were afraid that Riko would notice you and your brother. Either you lied to me or you changed your mind on that fact. I do hope it's the latter, I hate being lied to.”

“I didnʻt change my mind Andrew,” Kit said, pulling away from Andrew, getting a good distance away. “I couldnʻt just sit back and watch him belittle Kevin, also for the last time, stop touching me.”

“You had a choice to say nothing and keep your head down, same with your brother.”

“I had to say something, Andrew.”

“And what a thing to say! You and your brother went off and took a swing at Riko on live TV, well, moreso you than your brother. Thatʻs what you wanted right? The target to mainly be on your back?”

“Having a target on my back isnʻt a worry to me, itʻs my brother that I worry about. Fuck what happens to me,” Kit said pointing a his neck and his eye. “I did what I did because I knew that if I didnʻt Neil would be in more trouble than heʻs worth.” 

Andrew raised an eyebrow at Kitʻs wording, leaning back against the door, he crossed his arms over his chest. “You also took a hit for Kevin, twice. Why?”

Kit stood there for a moment just staring at Andrew before responding, “I guess everyone heard that fight with Seth,” Andrew nodded and waited for Kit to continue. “Seth was going on about how Kevin can get everything that he wanted because he was famous. I wasnʻt going to sit back and listen to him talk shit about someone he knows nothing about. Thatʻs why we got into a fight, cause I told him that he has no right to be talking about him that way. Same goes for Riko today, he was belittling Kevin. I wasnʻt going to just sit there and do nothing.” 

“Give Riko a couple of days and heʻll know everything about you for having that little outburst, even though you thought that you were doing the right thing by Kevin. You know that heʻs not going to see it like that,” Andrew said, a smile growing on his face. “Money greases the wheels of the world easier than blood does, and Riko has access to both. He'll look for a way to get back at you, and it won't take him long to see how cold your trails are. How long do you think it'll take someone with his connections to figure out the truth?”

Kit didnʻt answer and only stood there, his body starting to shake a little at the thought of Riko finding out who they were.

“Would you and your brother do when he finds out? Run?”

“Iʻll run if it means keeping Neil safe, you know that I would and you know that he would.”

“I know,” Andrew agreed. “I can see that you will. You and your brother have that look in your eye that says that you both know where every exit to this dormitory is.” 

Kit took a step back, his heart was pounding, he needed to get out of here, grab Neil and leave. He didnʻt notice Andrew step forward grabbing his left hand and the back of his neck holding him in place. Kit tried to jerk away but Andrew refused to let go.

“Hey, Kit. Running wonʻt save you or your brother this time.” Andrew said, his face getting closer to Kitʻs. “Running was your only option when no one knew who you or Neil were. You knew that back in June. Thatʻs why you and your brother were planning on leaving before the Ravens game. You really should have left before you insulted him on national tv. Riko will want to know who disrespected him, and heʻll get his answers. You canʻt outrun your past anymore.”

“I have to try, whatever I can do to get Neil away from him.”

Andrew hummed at Kitʻs response. “There you go thinking that you only have one choice. I thought that you didnʻt want to leave.”

“I donʻt want to leave, not now, not after I had finally gotten something I loved back into my life.”

“What would it take to make you stay?” 

Kit stood there, still hunched over, Andrew not letting up his grip on his wrist or the back of his neck. “What?” 

Andrew laughed quietly and let go of Kitʻs neck, letting him stand up straight but not letting go of his wrist. “Name it and itʻs yours. It doesnʻt matter what it is so long as you stand your ground here with us.”

Kit stood there for another moment. “Protection for Neil. I donʻt care if I donʻt have anyone watching my back, I just need someone to help me watch Neilʻs. I canʻt lose him again.” 

Andrew raised an eyebrow, he had an understanding of why Kit wanted to look after his brother. He was making a connection. “What about you? You need someone to watch your back. If you stay by Kevinʻs side, let him make you a star. Let him make your brother a star. Take the time from now to October to narrow down the angles that Riko can get to you and your brother. Make the people hate you, love you, I donʻt care. Itʻs hard to kill a man when everyoneʻs eyes are on them.” Andrew said letting go of Kit and taking a step back. “For one year, Iʻll stand between you and the Moriyamas if you and your brother stay by Kevinʻs side.”

“Why? Donʻt watch my back, watch Neilʻs.” Kit said. 

“Because you will be first on their hit list.” Andrew said with a smirk. “Itʻs hard to look after your brother when youʻre dead. Ask me more questions tonight, youʻll get answers in Columbia. You are going to be coming out with us again tonight, you and your brother.”

“Not after what you did to Neil.”

“Shh, Kit,” Andrew said in a hushed tone. “If you want to truly stay, you and your brother will come with us at nine. If you are truly stupid enough to run, you have plenty of time to pack up and leave before then.”

“I-” Kit started but cut himself off, he knew that at some point later in the day, Neil will be over here having a similar conversation with Andrew. He will wait until then to decide. 

“I know that you are your brother arenʻt strangers to snap judgements. I saw it today when you pulled Riko off of Kevin. You gave Kevin your game. Give me your back.”

Kit stood there, no one had ever wanted to look out for him, he didnʻt know how to react. He was always looking out for someone else he often forgot that he could be targeted too. Andrew stepped out of the way of the door and motioned for Kit to leave. “Tick tock Kit, you better start thinking. Iʻll call for you idiot brother later.”

Andrew opened the bedroom door and Kit was out of it immediately, Andrew followed him to the main door, his hand now resting on his lower back on the way to the door. The rest of Andrewʻs lot were sitting around, making sure that Kevin doesnʻt drink himself to death. Kit opened the door to the hallway and shut it. Kitʻs body froze in place.

His heart was telling him to stay and his head was telling him to run. But he knew that running now wouldnʻt end well for him or his brother. Andrew stood between them and Riko after what happened at Kathyʻs show, Andrew saw what lengths Kit would go to to keep Neil safe and now Kevin safe. Why would Andrew stand between them and Riko and not go to Kevin? 

The door to the menʻs dorm opened and Dan came out and walked down to Kit, with Renee, Matt and Neil following. 

“What the hell did he want? He needs to learn not to take people without asking,” Dan started but stopped when she saw Kit hold up his hand.

“Donʻt worry about it, nothing bad happened, just a little talk,” Kit said, he walked past them and went into their dorm, he really didnʻt want to hear what they were going to say.

The group made their way back into the room and decided that now it would be a good idea to get lunch. Kit went off to go and get changed into something that was slightly more comfortable and made his way out into the lounge room. 

The group spent the next few hours wasting time and eating pizza, Kit couldnʻt get his mind off of what Andrew was offering him and Neil. A reason to stay by Kevinʻs side, a reason to feel some sort of security. A reason to live a life that he wanted to for a year. 

A knock at the door wasnʻt enough to make Kit less interested in his thoughts. He listened into the conversation, it sounded further away then it really was.

“Andrew wants to see you.” 

Kit looked at Neil and saw him looking at the clock, Neil got up and followed Nicky out of the room. Kit hoped that Neil wouldnʻt do anything stupid. The upperclassmen looked at Kit to see if he would react but they saw him just staring off at the wall, so they went back to talking about the banquet. The sound of someone running down the hall a few minutes later caught their attention. 

Kit was the first person up to look outside the window to see his brother running off. “Not again, that idiot…” 

Renee was by Kitʻs side as he watched Neil run off. “Come,” She said pointing to the door, walking out of the room with Dan and Matt asking what they saw when they looked out the window. 

Kit followed Renee out into the hallway and to Andrewʻs room, Kit stood behind her as she knocked on the door. Andrew opened the door and smiled seeing Kit and Renee. “Hello, sorry you just missed the rabbit.”

“Heʻll be back,” Kit said as Andrew moved to the side to let them in.

“I wanted to know,” Renee started looking at Andrew and then at Kevin who was now looking at them. “How soon could we expect Riko to respond?”

“We would hear back from them tonight, after what they both did he wouldnʻt take it lightly,” Kevin said, still looking at Kit.

“Sorry Kevin, I wasnʻt going to stand back and let him talk shit to you,” Kit said, rolling his eyes before looking at Renee. “Iʻm going to find out where Neil got to. Tell the others weʻll be back by nine.”

Kit turned out the door and left, soon running down the stairs, ignoring the upperclassmanʻs questions. Once getting outside he headed in the direction that he saw Neil runoff in. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!! I really hope that you all are liking the story! I loved writing it so I am hoping that you guys somewhat like it as well!!


	14. Chapter 14: The Death of a Fox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welp, Andrew takes Neil and Kit out to Columbia.
> 
> Seth doesnʻt make it through the night.
> 
> Andrew gives Neil and Kit a reason to stay. A home.

The dormitory was uncharacteristically busy by the time Kit and Neil made it back at nine. On Kitʻs rounds of where his brother would be he found him and talked to him about staying, telling him that this would be the best thing, they couldnʻt be killed if they had the public watching them. People coming back from the football after-parties were coming back to the dorm. People yelled for each other up and down the hall, loud music could be heard from all open doors. Kit followed closely behind Neil as they made their way up to the third floor. The Foxesʻ doors were the only ones that were closed this side of the stairwell.

They both walked up to Andrewʻs door, Kit took a moment. Neil knew that Kit was doing everything to keep him safe and away from Riko and running now after what they did would end up getting them both killed. But they both still had that instinct to pack up and get out of there. As Kit raised his hand to knock on the door, it opened without warning.

“Oh, they made it,” Andrew said, looking over the two brothers. “Thatʻs interesting.” 

He leant forward and pressed two fingers to Kitʻs throat, feeling him freeze up under his touch but not moving to grab his wrist. Andrew raised an eyebrow, not expecting this from Kit and then turned to Neil and did the same thing to him. But Neil was the one to react by going to grab his wrist. Andrew leaned forward, getting close to the two brothers.

“Remember this feeling. This is the moment you stop being the rabbits.”

Kit stood there, not knowing how to answer what Andrew just said but he didnʻt have too. Andrew pushed past the two brothers and grabbed their wrists along the way pulling them back into the hallway. Letting them go and putting his hands in his pockets before waiting for the others.

Nicky was next out of the room, once he spotted Neil and Kit a grin lit up his face. Aaron looked at the two brothers, skeptical before he glared at Andrew but said nothing. Kit watched Kevin, he was harder to read as he stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him. Kit kept watching Kevin as he moved out next to Andrew. 

Movement two doors down caught his attention, giving him a reason to stop staring at Kevin. Five strangers were knocking on his suite door. Seth stepped out to greet them, slapping backs and high-fiving as he moved into their ranks. Allison wasn't far behind them. She pressed against Seth's back and slid her hands down his sides to his pants. Kit watched as she systematically dug through all of his pockets. She came back with just a lighter and a crumpled stick of gum. 

Kit raised an eyebrow at what she was doing, but caught on a little bit when Seth spoke. “Iʻm not stupid.”

Allison was looking for something on Seth that he didnʻt have, drugs? Maybe. 

“Kit, Neil, you made it,” Mattʻs voice was enough to bring Kitʻs attention towards him. Kit looked between the faces and wondered what happened after he left to go and find Neil. “Seth and Allison are going bar-hopping downtown, so the rest of us are prepping for a movie marathon. Any requests?”

“Youʻre leaving campus?” Nicky asked, a little harshly at Seth and Allison. “Are you serious?”

Allison scoffed at Nicky and wrapped her arms tighter around Seth. “Itʻs none of your business.”

Matt glared at Allison and Seth but he kept talking to the Josten twins. “Renee should be back with drinks any second now. She said sheʻd get something nonalcoholic for you Neil.”

“Oh what a waste,” Andrew said, Kit forgot that he was there for a moment. “Iʻm buying Neil and Kitʻs drinks tonight.” 

It took them a couple of seconds to catch on before Dan lurched out of the doorway with a loud and outraged, “Youʻre joking.”

Andrew just laughed at her. “You wish I was.”

“Last time Neil went out with you he hitchhiked his way back, and I donʻt even want to know what happened to Kit after that, Neil didnʻt talk to Kit for like a week,” Dan said. Sethʻs friends looked from her to Andrew with blatant interest, but Dan didnʻt notice the attention. Stabbing a finger at Andrew she said, “Neither of them are going out with you again. Theyʻll probably wind up dead this time.”

Kit rolled his eyes at Dan, she wasnʻt wrong in thinking that they might die but he highly doubted that anything truly bad would happen to him and Neil tonight. 

“No one trusts you,” Matt said. “What are you playing at?”

“Itʻs not really any of your business,” Aaron said.

“I said that neither of them are going,” Dan said, looking to Kit and Neil. “Kit, Neil, donʻt let him push you around.”

Andrew nudged Neil and Kit with his elbows and said in German. “Hey, Neil, Kit. Isnʻt this amazing? Isnʻt this touching? Look how they worry and weep over the two of you. Such misplaced concern. Tell them that the two of you can look after yourselves.”

Kit froze up a little, Andrew was daring them to cross a line. To give up a little more of the lie that was Neil and Kit Josten. Kit took a deep breath in, he chose to stay here. He chose Andrew.

“Theyʻre not stupid enough to think itʻs only a drink.” Neil said in German.

“They know that there's always a motive behind these things Andrew, why wouldnʻt they be worried?” Kit said in German also.

“Oh shit,” Nicky said, switching languages in a heartbeat. “Since when did either of you speak German? Andrew you knew about this and you didnʻt think to tell us?”

“Boring,” Andrew said. “Learn to figure things out for yourself for once.”

Nicky turned to Aaron and waggled a hand at him. “Quick, have we said anything totally incriminating these past few months?”

“Aside from your endless inappropriate comments about what you'd like to do to them, I don't think so. Looks like you've managed to completely embarrass yourself in both languages.” Aaron looked at Neil and Kit. “When were you going to tell us?”

“We werenʻt,” Kit said, Neil nodding. “After the shit we put up with from you guys this year, we figured we didnʻt owe you anything.”

Aaron shrugged and let it slide, as Nicky rubbed his face and muttered something under his breath. Down the hall Kit could feel the upperclassmen staring at them in disbelief. Matt was the first to find his tongue again and the best he could come up with was, “I thought that the two of you spoke French. That was French this morning at Kathyʻs? Right?”

“Weʻll see you tomorrow,” Neil and Kit spoke in English.

“Weʻre going,” Andrew said, making his way down the hall with Kevin on his heels.

“Kit, Neil, this isnʻt a good idea,” Dan said.

Kit just shrugged as he followed Kevin and Andrew, grabbing Neil and making sure that he followed as well. Aaron and Nicky fell in behind them. Both Neil and Kit ended up in the same place as last time, Kit sitting mostly on top of Neil and the two of them between the Minyard twins. Neil buckled up as Nicky reached back and dropped two bags in Kitʻs lap. Kit knew what it was, their new clothes for the night.

This time the drive to Colombia was filled with talking, since Andrew still had another hour or so worth of energy from his medication. Kit listened to Nicky and Andrew talking the whole way there, Andrew arguing back cheerfully to almost everything that Nicky said. They were almost to Columbia when Andrewʻs answers started getting further apart and Nicky started dominating the conversation.

Sweetieʻs was just as busy as the first night they came here, but they were lucky enough to pull into the carpark when someone was leaving. Nicky stole the spot, cheering at his accomplishment as the six of them headed inside. Kevin gave their name to the hostess.

Andrew looked at Neil and Kit. 

“We need numbers for crackers. Are you in or out?” 

“Out,” Kit said, swinging his bag around a little bit, looking for where the bathroom was but Nicky tapped on his shoulder to point the way to the bathroom. Kit jumped a little at the contact but grabbed Neil and dragged him to the bathroom. 

Kit walked into a stall immediately to start changing. “New clothes? Thank you Andrew,” Kit muttered as he listened into the conversation that Neil and Nicky were having, making sure that nothing bad was happening.

It was tricky, changing into the black skinny jeans, boots and black shirt and gray jacket. But it was harder trying to listen in.

“Now that youʻre both ours, we got to take care of you. First order of business is fixing both of your miserable wardrobes.” Kit opened the stall door and stared at Nicky in pure confusion, Nicky looked at Kit and then back at Neil. “Okay, no. Whatʻs with the blank stares? You both know why you are coming out with us tonight, right? Andrew squeezed some sort of explanation into his usual crazy nonsense?”

Kit walked over to Neil and sat up on the counter, putting his bag on the floor and started lacing up his boots. “Andrew said that heʻd give me answers later tonight.” 

“Youʻve got to be kidding me.” Nicky groaned, looking pained. “This means that Andrew is keeping the both of you, same as he kept Kevin. It means you are both part of the family now.”

“I donʻt believe in family,” Neil said, earning him a small kick from Kit.

Kit just sat there listening, not really knowing how to make a comment on what Nicky was saying because he was more focused on what he was saying. 

“Family means something different with us because it has to. Itʻs not about blood. Itʻs not even about who we like. Itʻs about who Andrew is willing to protect.”

Kit felt his stomach get tight before he decided to jump into the conversation. “So, heʻs including us because of what happened this morning?”

“Partly,” Nicky said. “But partly because you're the reason Kevin's going to stay with our team. Andrew's got Kevin's back, but you've got Kevin's attention. You're both as freakishly obsessed with Exy as he is. That makes you both invaluable to Andrew.”

Kit watched as Neil stood there for a moment before finally gathering his clothes and turning to a stall. Nicky touched Neilʻs shoulder before he could step away from the sink, making Kit lean forward and tug on the back of Nickyʻs collar in warning.

“Look, I know we screwed up last time. Please believe me when I say Andrew was just looking out for the rest of us. He didn't want to take any chances. But things are different now. You're one of us, which means we'll never push you further than you're willing to go. Okay?”

“Weʻll see about it,” Kit said as Neil finally went to go and get changed. He jumped off the counter and looked in the bathroom mirror, taking out his contacts and throwing them in the bin. Kit never really liked his eyes, they reminded him of his fatherʻs even though they werenʻt the full icy blue they held memories that he didnʻt want to remember.

Kit was fixing up his shirt and jacket by the time Neil finished, Neil took out his contacts as well before the trio left to go and find where the other three were. 

The others were already seated by the time they made it out of the bathroom. A waitress finished jotting down their orders and stepped out of the way to let Neil, Kit and Nicky sit. Nicky went first and Kit went after him, graciously leaving the outside seat for Neil.

Aaron arched an eyebrow at Nicky. “Drown in the toilet?”

“Even quickies take time, you know," Nicky said.

“Don't make me sick.”

“You know, if you'd get around to popping Katelyn one, you wouldn't be so anal." Nicky ducked when Aaron threw a wadded-up napkin at him. “It's true. You are bringing her to the banquet, aren't you?”

Kit rolled his eyes at where the conversation was going and just leaned his head on his hand, he glanced at the waitress who brought their ice cream. They all ate in silence. The wad of money that Aaron left on the table showed to Kit and Neil that they had already gotten their drugs, considering he hadnʻt seen any on the table.

The line outside of Edenʻs Twilight was half the size that it was when they came here last time. Nicky blamed it on South Carolina's blue laws. Apparently alcohol sales were prohibited on Sunday, which meant the bars had to stop serving it at midnight Saturday. The group only had an hour and a half to drink, but Nicky promised there was a stash at "the house".

“But whose house is it?” Neil asked.

"Technically it's mine, but I consider it ours." Nicky waved to include the entire group in that. "I left Germany so I could be Aaron and Andrew's guardian, did you know? It was me or my super religious parents, and I figured I had a better chance of surviving Andrew. I bought that house so we'd have a place to stay. Dad cosigned it, but Erik helped fund it. I use my monthly stipend to make payments on the mortgage.” 

“Why did you stay with Abby this summer then?” Kit asked.

“Because Andrew didn't feel like driving Kevin back and forth to the upstate for practice every day,” Nicky said.

He pulled up to the curb outside Eden's Twilight long enough to collect a VIP parking pass. The others went inside while he went down the street to the garage. It was easier to get a table tonight thanks to the shortened hours, but the club was still more crowded than Kit was comfortable with. Andrew left Aaron and Kevin to guard their seats and brought Kit and Neil with him to get their drinks. Roland the bartender was on duty again. Judging by the look on his face, he remembered the two and couldnʻt believe theyʻd returned.

“He said no,” Andrew said. “Keep them clean.”

Roland stopped for a moment when he got a little bit of a better look at Kit, seeing the hand marks around his throat and a bruised cheekbone. He handed an empty glass and unopened can to Neil before turning away to fix the othersʻ drinks.

Kit leaned back against the bar and tapped his fingers on the top of it. 

“Paranoid,” Andrew said. 

“Sometimes it helps to be paranoid, Andrew.” Kit said, Andrew looked towards him for a moment before looking at Neil again.

“If you're such a control freak you shouldn't be drinking either.” Neil said.

“I know what my limits are,” Andrew said. “I'm not going to test them.”

“And the dust?” Kit asked.

“Too much crazy in this system for the dust to make a difference, I guess. We got into dust for Aaronʻs sake. He needed something safe to get on when he was coming off everything that his mother gave him.”

Andrew now fully turned to Kit, knowing that somehow Neil would know that this applied to him too. He gestured between their faces. “Do you remember this game? Weʻre doing the honesty thing again, you too Neil. Well at least until I get bored of it. In a moment you both are going to be perfectly honest with me and tell me what I have to do to keep you here.”

“You already know my terms Andrew.” Kit said pushing himself away from the bar, getting closer to Andrew.

Andrew raised an eyebrow before leaning into Kitʻs ear. “Iʻm going to protect you, cause you canʻt protect someone when you are dead.” 

Andrew pulled away and turned to Neil, letting Kit stand slightly in front of his brother. “Nicky says that youʻre only keeping us because of Kevin,” Neil said. “What if Kevin gets bored of us?”

“Keep his interest,” Andrew said, Kit knew that it was more of a command than it was a suggestion.

Kit looked to Neil before he started talking. “Can you protect us from our past?” Neil asked, giving his brother a side glance.

“Your fatherʻs boss.” Andrew guessed.

Kit gulped a little, fire burning on his skin, he didnʻt like people knowing the truth, he didnʻt even like knowing the truth. “Yes. Word got around that the Moriyamas didnʻt trust his people anymore, and his business never recovered. Heʻs been after us ever since. He was arrested on some small charges a little while back but he won't be in jail forever. You said the Moriyamas can't touch us this year because of Kevin. But if he finds us, heʻll kill us.”

“Such a mess.” Andrew sounded unsympathetic. “Easy enough to take care of though.”

A group of people shouldered their way up to the bar, they pushed into Neilʻs back, pushing him and Kit into Andrew. Andrew didnʻt move an inch under their weight. Neil was the first to move back, but Kit stood leaning against Andrew a moment longer. Andrew was a solid, fierce and unmoving force. Kit wasnʻt used to worrying about anyone but Neil that he forgot that he could get hurt to. Now he put his and Neilʻs out of control life into Andrewʻs hands, hoping that he would keep it safe.

Kit got off Andrew by the time Roland got back with a tray full of their drinks. Andrew took it and motioned for Kit and Neil to go in front of him. Heʻd finished unloading the drinks onto their tabletop when Nicky finally showed up.

Kit had to admit, he was drinking a lot, but he wasnʻt going to try and keep up with Kevin. They were all drinking against the clock. Kit looked at Neil, waiting for him to nod his head before leaning against him as the others broke out the dust, and Aaron and Nicky soon after disappeared off to the dance floor. Andrew collected their empty glasses and made his way back over to the bar.

Kit leaned onto the table, staring at Kevin, this was the first time since this morning that the three of them were alone. Kevin kept looking at Kit trying to search for the reason why he would be standing up for him so much today, why he seemed somewhat used to being in front of cameras and why he seemed so familiar. 

Andrew finally returned after half an hour, Kit and Neil were starting to think that he had gotten lost on the way back. Kit set his questions aside and joined Andrew and Kevin in drinking. 

The last call for drinks went up at ten to midnight. Aaron and Nicky came back for the last round of drinks. Neil tried to cut his brother off since Kit downed nine drinks in an hour and a half, but he saw that his brother needed to get his mind off of what happened yesterday and that morning. Andrew helped Kevin out, so Neil had to keep Nicky from walking off the footpath and into the road while Kit just stumbled a little behind his brother. 

The car ride was short like last time. Now Neil wasnʻt passed out and Kit was fully sitting on his brotherʻs lap because he didnʻt want to be close to Nicky. Andrew was pulling into the driveway when Aaronʻs phone started ringing. Everyone groaned a little at the loud noise, Aaron fumbled through his pockets looking for it but it took him four rings before he found it. He flipped it open and stared blearily at the screen, and made a face.

“Coach,” He answered, Kit raised an eyebrow a little confused as to why he was calling. “Do you know what time it is? What? Wait, wait, what? Youʻre lying. I donʻt believe you!”

Aaron jerked the phone away from him and shoved it at Andrew. Andrew took his time to light a cigarette before taking it.

“What do you want?” He asked, and listened as Wymack explained all over again. “Overdosed like how?”

“Again?” Nicky said incredulously. “That stupid bastard.”

“Never again,” Andrew said over his shoulder. “He's dead.”

There was a second of absolute silence before Nicky moved. He grabbed Andrew's shoulder and gave him a violent shake. “No. What?”

Andrew shrugged him off and spoke into the phone. "No, not a good idea. I'll call you when we're back in town." 

Nicky slumped forward in his chair and groaned low in his throat. “Shit, shit. No way.”

“Who overdosed?” Neil asked.

“Seth.” Andrew hung up and tapped the phone against his thigh. “Someone found him face-down in the bathroom at Bacchus where he drowned in his own puke. It's exactly how I warned him he was going to clock out, not that he ever listened to me.”

“God, Seth overdosed…” Kit muttered. “I always thought that he was on something but I never saw him using.”

Andrew turned back and looked at Kit. “He cleared most of it out of his system years ago, the only thing heʻs on these days is antidepressants. Interesting.”

“I think I might be sick,” Nicky said.

Kit looked over at Nicky and then took a glance at Aaron. He was a little surprised at how badly they were taking it. Kit didnʻt really feel anything other than surprise, after doing a mental check everything came back clean. He and Neil grew up around death. So this was nothing different from anyone else. But maybe Sethʻs death should have been a little different because he had lived with him for a few months but it wasnʻt.

“Are we going back?” Neil asked.

“When theyʻre all drunk and cracker high and Iʻm off my meds? Iʻll be back in jail before you can say ʻthreat to socieyʻ. Weʻll go back in the morning.”

Andrew got out of the car, Kit felt awkward staying in here any longer but neither Nicky or Aaron looked like they were moving.

“What about the line-up?” Kevin asked.

Nicky winced. “Kevin, a man is dead, never coming back.”

“Not a major loss.” Kevin muttered.

Nicky got out of the car and started pacing up and down the driveway with his hands linked behind his neck. Kit took this as his moment to get out of the car, leaving Neil, Aaron and Kevin in there. Kit walked up to Andrew as he finished whatever he was going, transferring the key chain to his other hand and pointed his cigarette at Kitʻs face.

“Thatʻs interesting,” Andrew said. “That apathy doesnʻt bode well for your sanity.”

Kit just shrugged before talking. “I didnʻt really think that chasing drinks with antidepressants could kill someone.” 

“I donʻt understand suicide,” Neil said out of nowhere. “Staying alive has always been so important I canʻt imagine actively trying to die.”

“Normally they donʻt,” Andrew said before looking at Neil. “He wasnʻt,” Andrew just turned into the house, not bothering to turn on the lights. Kit pushed Neil ahead of him and left the door open for the others. “He wanted to have a way out for a little while, a few hours where he didnʻt have to think or feel. Problem was, he picked an out that was easy to die on.”

“Is that why you drink?” Neil said. “Cause you donʻt want to feel?” 

Andrew turned to face him. Kit ran into Neilʻs back.  
  
“No Neil, that's why I drink.” Kit muttered before grabbing Andrewʻs wrist taking his hands away from his brother. “Donʻt touch him Andrew.”

Andrew turned to Kit with a raised eyebrow but didnʻt move his hand out of his grip.

“I donʻt feel for anyone or anything,” Andrew said. “Donʻt forget that.” 

Kit let go of Andrewʻs wrist and watched Neil.

“So Kevinʻs just a hobby to you?” Neil asked.

“Seth didnʻt kill himself. He couldnʻt have.” 

Kit raised an eyebrow at the sudden subject change, avoiding the topic of Kevin. “What do you mean?” Kit asked, he had a feeling that Seth didnʻt kill himself but he didnʻt really want to acknowledge the fact that this might be Rikoʻs doing.

“Seth only takes his pills when he and Allison are on the outs.” Andrew said. “When theyʻre together sheʻs enough to hold him up. She went with him tonight, so she would have made sure he left his pills at home. She knows he likes chasing them with drinks.”

“Yeah, I saw her look through his pockets, came up clean,” Kit said, remembering Allison looking through all of Sethʻs pockets. 

“So did I,” Andrew said.

Kit thought for a moment, he knew that they would be hearing from Riko tonight but killing off a teammate was low even for him. “Riko planned this…” 

Andrew raised an eyebrow at Kit before looking at Neil. “Your brother seems to catch on, I think the timingʻs too convenient for it to be an accident,” Andrew said, Neil looked between the two of them, not believing. “Riko broke Kevinʻs hand for being better. He crossed districts because Kevin picked up a racquet again. What do you think he would do to the two people that called him useless on national TV?

“You both said our greatest strength is in our small size. How strong do you feel knowing that you have been bumped up to our starting line? You think the two of you can help Kevin carry us to championships?”

“And you call me paranoid.” Neil said quietly.

“Neil, Iʻm sure that they all were meant to stay on campus tonight. After you ran off, Renee and I went over to ask Kevin how soon we could expect to be hearing from Riko. Kevin said tonight, I knew something was off when I saw Nicky actually pay attention to Allison and Seth. I told Renee to tell them that we would be back by nine, they built their plans around us.” Kit said, looking at Neil.

“I donʻt believe you,” Neil said, looking between Andrew and Kit.

“I canʻt prove it, but I know Iʻm right.”

“If you are right, then what?” Neil asked. “Iʻm willing to gamble with my life-” 

“Oh no you are not Neil, Iʻm the one that is in Rikoʻs firing line before you. You arenʻt gambling your life.” Kit said, cutting his brother off. “Iʻm willing to gamble with my life and no one elses, Iʻll do anything to keep you safe Neil.”

“Neither of you have to,” Andrew said, grabbing Kitʻs shoulder tightly. “I do, and I say the odds are good. The Foxes are famous for having terrible seasons, but even bad luck only goes so far. One death is a believable tragedy. Two brings us below the bare minimum number of requisite players to compete. Coach Moriyama wants Kevin and Riko to face off on court, so Riko can't risk disqualifying us.”

Neil watched as Andrew brought his hand up around the back of his brotherʻs neck and gripped it tightly, wondering why Kit wasnʻt pushing him away. Andrew used his other hand to grab onto the front of Neilʻs shirt and tugged at it softly. “I know what Iʻm doing. I knew what I was getting into when I took Kevinʻs side. I knew what it would cost us and how far Iʻd have to go. Understand? You arenʻt going anywhere. Youʻre both staying here.”

Andrew held his eye contact with Kit, refusing to let go until the two of them nodded. Kit nodded and watched Andrew reach for his smoke, grabbing it out of Neilʻs hand and putting something into his hand. Andrew grabbed Kitʻs left hand and pressed a warm key into his palm. Kit stood there for a moment, pressing the metal harder into his hand. 

“Get some sleep,” Andrew said. “Weʻre going home tomorrow. Weʻll figure this out then.” 

Andrew went between Neil and Kit to get to the front door. Kit kept watching him as he made his way out of the front door, it was hard to look away from him. Kit turned away and looked at Neil. 

“Neil, we made the right choice.” Kit said, guiding Neil to where the couches were.

Kit sat down in one of the recliners, curling his legs up under him. Looking at the key in his hand. Kit knew deep down that there was a high chance of him and Neil leaving Palmetto State in a casket before spring. Andrew gave Kit something that he had never had, someone to watch out for him for once in his life. Kit was okay with spending his last few months as Kit Josten, Neil Jostenʻs twin brother and an enigma on the court. Heʻd be training with Kevin, heʻd be a teenager with a bright future and his and his brotherʻs death would be a tragedy. This sounded better than dying halfway across the world. Heʻd be fighting for his future for as long as he could, heʻd be fighting to keep his brother safe, to keep Kevin safe. And someone would be fighting to keep him safe.

“Home, Neil… A place to call home…” Kit muttered as he saw his brother curl up. Kit never thought that he would live to the day that he could call a place home with his brother. It seemed like a pipe dream, something that he would wake up from and be back at the Nest. His breath hitched as he clenched his hand into a fist, holding it close to his chest. “Welcome home, Kit and Neil.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! I hope that you liked the story! 
> 
> I feel like doing the next book. I have been writing for myself at this point, and I have made a few changes to Kit for The Raven King. I hope that you guys have liked my story!


	15. Second Book!

Hey everyone!

I know that this is a bit late to be putting this up, but I have started uploading the second book!

Itʻs called ʻThe Raven That Found A Homeʻ

I hope that if you enjoyed this story that you would consider reading the next one!

I know that some of you found Kit to be a little bit annoying in this one but I have been developing his character a lot through the next book, so I hope that you give him a chance!

I would love to hear your feedback on the next story as well! 

I hope you enjoyed my quarantine fanfiction! Love you all!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So this is the first chapter! I hope that you like the story! Please feel free to critique the story as you see fit! This is my first long fanfic so I would love some ways that I can change it up and make it better!


End file.
